There is of course nothing low-brow about a Yellow-browed Warbler. To my mind they are one of the most special species of the Warbler family, and I always love to see one. On our annual holidays to Cornwall in October the Yellow-browed Warbler is one of the most anticipated and sought after birds. We saw our first in the Cot Valley way back in the last Millennium and that bird cemented the species as one of our favourites. I'd still put them in my top ten species.
Recently however, there has been no need to wait until October to see a Yellow-browed Warbler. They have become New Year birds because I've seen one in the first week of the year in each of the previous six years. The bird we were travelling to see at Frampton-on-Severn in Gloucestershire, after seeing our latest lifer, the Least Sandpiper at Steart Marshes in Somerset (see previous blog), would make that seven successive first week of the year Yellow-browed Warblers. The bird had been discovered by the local Frampton stalwart (another Nick) a day or so before. Interestingly the small Warbler, usually seen flitting about energetically in trees, was feeding on the ground next to Frampton Court Lake. The Yellow-browed we saw last January in Leicestershire also fed amongst the leaf litter. I'm guessing that later in the winter, the species adopts the ground feeding technique because tree borne food becomes more scarce.
We arrived as the sun was beginning its descent but it would provide a lovely light to the proceedings since it was thankfully at our backs. We walked past the now broken Tawny Owl tree which used to be a go-to place to see the Owls but sadly a few years ago a storm and a bolt of lightning brought the top half of the tree crashing down. The Owls are still in the park but I've yet to discover which new tree they use. We could see a small group of birders stood close to the lake and quickly joined them. All of their focus was directed towards the ground at the bottom of a couple of trees so it took just seconds to find the Yellow-browed Warbler. It's nice when you can find a bird immediately.
After watching the Warbler hopping around amongst the grass and nettles for a few moments, I looked for the best place to stand/crouch in order to get the clearest view. Yellow-browed Warblers are extremely active birds when in trees and can be difficult to keep track of. On the ground they move much slower and more deliberately so are easier to follow. The problem lies with the fact that they easily hide in the vegetation. I rattled off lots of shots with the camera. Half the photos caught the bird, the other half just grass and leaves. However, with a bit of practise and learning the bird's movements it became easier to predict when the Warbler would emerge into a clear view.
Yellow-browed Warblers are part of the Phylloscopus group of Warblers. Many of that family are confusingly similar and the differences between them are subtle. The Yellow-browed is so named because of a striking yellow stripe above the eye (the yellow brow) but many other species in the family have that too. The much rarer Two-barred Greenish Warbler is very similar but is more uniformly coloured lacking the Yellow-browed's two-tone wings. Pallas's Warbler have an extra stripe on the crown and Hume's Leaf Warbler is a paler, more subdued version of the Yellow-browed. I've seen them all over the past few years, all have been dealt with in my blogs. Crucially, all species have different calls. Hearing the "tsweeeeet" call of a Yellow-browed Warbler is usually the best way of finding one.
The Warbler was searching for insects and appeared to be very successful in its hunting. We saw it snare a juicy green caterpillar which was devoured with gusto. Many small gnats and insects were also on the menu.
With the bright sunshine at our backs, it provided excellent light in which to photograph the Yellow-browed Warbler, making a nice change to the normal dingy conditions of Cornwall in October. Occasionally, when alarmed, the Yellow-browed would fly to the nearby trees but always returned quickly to the ground. This was a terrific opportunity to get some really nice photos of the species and I took loads!
The next Yellow-browed Warbler we see will probably be in October when they become the most common of Warblers, barring Chiffchaff. Of course at that time of year we'll be looking for the rarer Phylloscopus species but to my mind none of those will rival the Yellow-browed Warbler, not even everybody else's favourite, the Pallas's Warbler.
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