Savi's Warbler and Other Stuff

I just haven't been able to find the time to post anything on here recently, so here's a quick round up of some of the highlights of the last few days. The main one, obviously, was seeing and hearing a Savi's Warbler at Marazion Marsh in Cornwall on Sunday evening a lifer for both me and Bun. More about that later though. First here's a few photos of some birds I've seen over the last few days, mostly at the ringing session with the AERG yesterday morning. A low point of the weekend was missing a male Ruff in summer plumage which was at Colyford Common whilst I was at work. It was still there early the next morning too but I managed to dip. Disappointing because I've never seen a summer plumaged Ruff :-(

Cetti's Warbler

Female Balckcap (a first in hand for me)

Goldfinch

Sedge Warbler ( already wearing ring fitted in France) A yeartick too!

Another yeartick for me, also a first in hand bird for me and definitely one of the best!

A gorgeous male Whitethroat.

At Trinity Hill the Crossbills appeared to have gone,

and been replaced by Willow Warblers; they were everywhere!

Female Wheatear on Colyford Common

Male Wheatear at Marazion Marsh....Talking of which....

We (Bun and I) set off for Cornwall on Sunday afternoon having figured it was pointless arriving much before dusk as this was the time when the Savi's Warbler had been showing the previous day. We arrived at five thirty and still had to wait until seven o'clock before we saw it. It showed intermittently low in the reeds. Amazingly, while we were enjoying our best and most prolonged views we noticed that all the other birders/twitchers present weren't even looking, they didn't even notice us talking about what we could see!!! Go figure! Eventually the bird also started singing, very like a Grasshopper Warbler. Unless you have a good ear for pitch I reckon it'd be very difficult to tell them apart. There wasn't actually all that many people there, I'd say around twenty at most, some of them were very pleasant but others were miserable gits to say the least and their whingeing selfish attitude spoilt the atmosphere a bit.... a lot really!  

Some nice people and some miserable gits! 

Seen here enjoying good views of some reeds.

There was a very nice sunset though. It looked exactly like this.

Anyway you look at it, Savi's Warbler was definitely a great bird to see and hear. When we got home and I dropped Bun off at his house at around midnight he said " Thanks Karen, that was quite good" .... Summed it up really....