Warbler Photographs

I took a call from my good friend Simon this morning after he had an Oystercatcher fly over calling. Amazing with yesterdays bird(s) being the first recorded on the patch, he also informed me that he had found a Common Whitethroat singing (sub-song) from bushes around the small lake. The sun was breaking through the clouds so I thought I would head out and try to see his bird.

I rushed to the small lake (going the back way through bushes) and stood looking and listening at the bushes, although plesant listening to Chiffchaff and Goldfinch singing all around (as well as the odd Blue Tit and Bullfinch) the only Sylvia type warbler I saw was a male Blackcap, although I did here a possible Whitethroat but it was distant and there was a lot of traffic noise and some lawn mowing going on so I had to write it off as unusual warbler song.

Rather than waste the opportunity of being out I headed to the nearest reed bed in the hope a singing Reed Warbler would pop out into the open, it took a while and I wouldn’t exactly say it came into the open but I did manage one OK photograph of one, I was shooting through reeds so most of the other images are partial clips of the warbler rather than the bird in full like this one, I just wish it had been in full song with this shot.. Unfortunately the bird was disturbed by some fighting Carrion Crow and headed over the lake (it was back later on though).

Reed Warbler – Lodge Lake, Milton Keynes

Blackcaps

After my “success” with the Reed Warbler I decided to try my luck with a singing Blackcap along the path and although it showed beautifully singing in the open and often in sunlight it was always above me and often quite high in the tree canopy, great for watching but the underside of birds don’t really make for wonderful photos, although I did manage the photos you can see here, so it wasn’t too bad really. I may head out tomorrow and try again but I am suffering with my back at the moment so maybe I could use a day’s rest.