In the middle of September, on the back of some stormy weather in the Western Atlantic, Britain, and in particular the South-west experienced a mini-glut of rare North American Warbler species. The influx had begun in South-west Ireland a few days before but what happened in Pembrokeshire a day or two later was unprecedented. In the space of just a couple of days, several species of New World Warbler were deposited into the valleys and islands of South-west Wales. Two Magnolia Warblers, a Canada Warbler, A Bay-breasted Warbler, a Cape May Warbler, and a Black and White Warbler were all found there. Unfortunately all the sightings coincided with some rough weather this side of the Atlantic, most of the birds were discovered during midweek, and we were (mostly) out of luck by choosing the wrong day to go twitching, so the only one that we caught up with was a Magnolia Warbler at St. Govan's Head. Not that I'm complaining though. Not as much as usual anyway.
When I heard that a Magnolia Warbler had been found, I admit that I had to get my North American bird guide out and look it up. I'd never heard of the species before. It was found in a steep coastal valley next to a military firing range right in the furthest corner of Pembrokeshire on the Thursday afternoon during some very inclement weather. Once I'd seen what the bird looked like then I just had to rearrange my work schedule and cancel the following day's task and get up early and go on what was sure to be a well attended twitch.
We left home by four o'clock, stopped only for essentials and arrived at a full carpark just after eight-thirty. Luckily somebody was just leaving so we were able to get a space to park, others that followed us in were less fortunate. There was a fairly heavy mist hanging over the area and we couldn't see any birders. We could hear people talking but had no idea where they were. There was no phone reception either. So we stood at the car, momentarily severely discombobulated and unsure of what to do next. We were saved by a man who walked and asked us if we knew where to go. Apparently the Warbler had relocated from the ravine to an area of rough scrub a hundred metres north of the carpark. We were so close to the twitch and yet hadn't had a clue! Once we'd been set on the right path ( a wrong one for different reasons as we discovered later), it took us less than five minutes to join the rest of the birders lined up alongside a sizeable clump of gorse and scrub.
There were maybe a hundred and fifty twitchers waiting expectedly. The Magnolia Warbler had been seen so that was good news, but hadn't reappeared for an hour. The sun was slowly burning the mist off and it promised to be a fine day. Over the next thirty minutes there were a couple of shouts that the bird had been glimpsed but we were stood in the wrong place. A bigger shout saw most of the twitchers heading up the left flank of the area of rank vegetation. We tagged along and found a place to view a thorny hedge where the bird had been spotted. A minute or so later, the Magnolia Warbler appeared in a small bush next to an opening in the hedge. I had a quick glimpse of a radiant yellow and grey Chiffchaff sized bird. I was surprised at how brightly coloured the bird was. The Magnolia Warbler flitted across the gap and into a dense area of spindly trees and thick bushes, creating another mass stampede of birders. By the time we'd made the twenty metre dash we were at the back of a four deep crowd.
Another fifteen minutes passed without any further sign of the bird so I retreated back to my original position and sought out a position which gave a slightly elevated and more encompassing view of as much of the scrubby area as possible. I spoke to a cheap who had seen the Magnolia Warbler on both the evening before and earlier in the morning. He said that the bird was clearly taking a circuit of the scrub and pointed out a short blackthorn hedge where the bird had shown, he was fairly sure that at some point it would show there again. Every bird that appeared was intensely scrutinised, Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Robins, Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests were all spotted but none of them had shone out like the yellow on the Magnolia Warbler. If it did reappear there would be no missing it.
A flock of eight Choughs flying overhead while noisily chattering to each other diverted attention for a while from the stakeout. Now the sun had completely dissipated the mist, the Chough with their red bills gleaming in the clear light, looked fantastic. Normally I'd happily watch Choughs for ages but I daren't turn my focus away from the bushes for long on this occasion.
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| Chough |
All eyes gradually trained back onto the main quarry, mine were already re-focussed. My attention to the task in hand was rewarded when I had my own moment of glory since it was me that spotted the Magnolia Warbler first when it clambered through the tangle of branches. The views weren't great but I was able to take a quick few shots of the 418th bird that I've seen in the UK. The bright yellow throat, chest and belly were hard to miss even when the bird was partially obscured.
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| Magnolia Warbler |
The Magnolia Warbler showed in the same patch of trees again about ten minutes later before heading off into the thickest part of the scrub. After a period of inactivity there was a shout from near the original sighting, the bird had been seen again in the thicket of spindly stunted trees. We mad our way round and joined what appeared to be a "sitting down" vigil! Getting close to the ground allowed for a better view into the mini-jungle that the bird was in. Apparently the Magnolia Warbler was there in the tangle of branches but was being seen only by birders who had the right angle to see into the scrub. The next few minutes were frustrating as many calls of, 'There it is', and, 'I've got it' were heard from people sat just feet away. But just when I was about to tear my few remaining strands of hair out, the bird passed us, and only around twenty feet away too. Mrs Caley had seen it too which always helps.
It took another few minutes for the bird to reappear in the same spot and a few seconds longer for me to finally grab a couple of decent photos of it. Even in the dingy light of the thicket, those yellow underparts shone like a beacon. Otherwise the bird was rather grey with greenish shoulder patches and white fringes to the wings. It had taken some effort but we'd finally gotten the reward of observing a beautiful bird that I never expected ever to see.
While waiting for the Magnolia Warbler to appear, we'd been aware of close attendance by an MOD policeman who had drove onto the site. Apparently we had all ventured into a part of the military firing range! I must admit in my excitement and because of the early morning fog that I never noticed the sign shown below which was placed right by the start of the path by the carpark. Good job I hadn't too.
Events escalated when another van arrived. This one was chauffeur driven and the passenger looked rather stern and official. He approached the twitchers and suggested that everyone leave because we were all trespassing and in potential danger from unexploded ordnance. Phew! Of course some birders hadn't been fortunate to get good views so were reluctant to move on and a few disgruntled comments were made. The Army Captain who explained with good reason why we shouldn't be there hadn't arrived alone, walking towards us were three Police Officers. It was clear that the Army didn't want us on the land anymore. We all had to leave. I felt sorry for any birders arriving later because they were not going to get the opportunity to see the bird. Fortunately it transpired that after a sweep of the area by some soldiers, ensuring that there was no danger, permission was granted to other birders to view the scrubby area, but only from behind a rope that had been stretched out along the field, meaning that the close views that we had enjoyed were no longer possible. Birders arriving on Saturday would only get more distant views, although they did get an incredible double American Warbler show when a Canada Warbler was found just a couple of miles away, amazingly by the same person who discovered the Magnolia Warbler. The real lucky birders also managed to book boat trips out to the Pembrokeshire islands to tick the Bay-breasted and Black & White Warblers too. I booked us onto a boat to Ramsey Island to see the Bay-breasted for later in the week but we were first thwarted by rough weather and then the bird disappeared anyway.
We headed to Dale, close to the airfield which has attracted many rare birds in the past. A Melodious Warbler had been found in a thick hedge conveniently right next to a carpark near St. Ann's Head. Two birders were already there and directed us where to look since the Melodious Warbler, a fairly drab looking juvenile bird, had shown briefly about fifteen minutes before we arrived. Responding to one of the chaps impressive tongue clicks, the Melodious briefly moved through the brambles. My views, just about tickable were of the tail showing just a hint of yellow under and a quick view of the top of a greenish-brown head. Not great but enough to confirm the identity. Just.
Year List additions;
292) Magnolia Warbler, 293) Melodious Warbler
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