20200609 Blyth's Reed Warbler NWalsham Canal, 20200527 Walsey Hills & 20200613 Marsh Warbler

20200609 Blyth's Reed Warbler ID plate.

Title: Unprecedented number of Singing Blyth's Reed Warbler reach Britain in late spring of 2020

Top left Marsh Warbler A palustris, Centre Reed Warbler A scirpaceus, Bottom right Blyth's Reed Warbler A dumentorum. Walsy Hills May & June 2020.

• Marsh Warbler in full flow, upright, rapid, loud and strident as bebop jazzer, many licks stollen from other songsters. Desperate to impress.
• Yellow Ochre tones in base colour of plumage in Marsh. 
• Slim but potbellied structure.
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• Reed stays within a technical chortle, as too late at night, a bit worse for wear, bill only half open through much of chorus. Infrequent nod to long gone licks.
• Richer brown, burnt sienna tones to base colour of Reed's plumage.
• Well-built and sturdy structure.
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• Blyth's more measured and intellectual delivery than Marsh, with many well-placed licks and delivered from a rather relaxed horizontal posture.
• More Olive green and greyer base tone to plumage.
• Slighter and weaker build with plainer and shorter wing than Reed.
• Note closed bill shape variation on heads.

20200527 Walsey Hills bird

• https://www.xeno-canto.org/562700 Mark Golley's recording. Bird found by Chris Goodie.
•  Bird sang all day triggering the locals to reply, the Hills alive with song and calls this morning.
• Repeated mimicked phrase, 3 or more times with Reed like 'tjrr' and 'taks' between. As good as Nightingale in most phrases? Quieter machinegun like, nasal, buzzing churrs also between mimicked phrases. Quieter arppegio rises infrequently used, are these diagnostic?
•  Bird in loud and full song at head hight and 4m away in bushes, still could not be located. Seen to flit about 4 times, therefore no ID shots...
• Fine weather for overnight flying, here one day only.
• See also bird at Beer head, 1st June: notquitescilly2.blogspot.com/  gobirdingexmouth.blogspot.com/

20200527 Reed Warbler

Bird in song at North Point Pools earlier in the morning.

If only the Blyth's had shown half as well...
Note the supercilium stops at the eye-ring and the flanks are a warm yellow ochre.

20200609 Blyth's Reed Warbler

NWalsham Canal near Pygney's Wood.
This individual showed well in a willow clump across a dyke, which kept would be flushers back.
Other 3 skulked, sang and flitted.

20200609 Blyth's Reed Warbler
Darker distal end of lower mandible shows better with bill closed.

 20200613 Marsh Warbler
In full song in full midday sun.

 20200613 Marsh Warbler
Pale edged and tipped remiges are striking on this well lit bird.
Pale legs and straw coloured feet.

20200613 Marsh Warbler
Lower mandible bright orangish yellow.
Yellow ochre in lower flanks.
Agile and aggressive singer, compared to Blyth's more relaxed delivery.

20200613 Marsh Warbler
Bill base shows as deep cadmium yellow.
Note Yellow ochre tint to lower flanks.

20200613 Marsh Warbler
Back lit with evening light.

2nd bite of the cherry always produces results.