Thursday 19th September - Brown jobs

 English names ascribed to birds, I believe, are often to sensationalise an otherwise rather dowdy looking individual, the Dunnock excepted as a brown bird and uninspiring name. The Eastern Olivaceous Warbler is a fairly exotic name for a bird resembling a slightly washed out version of a Reed Warbler, itself a  small warm brown warbler, although the former with a longer bill, an evocative manner of tail-wagging and an exceptional rarity status will win any prize.

I'd not seen one before in the UK and they are pretty rare with only 20 previous records the majority being offshore islands, so it was a surprise for one to turn up at Farlington Marshes on the Hampshire coast found on Saturday afternoon, and perhaps more surprising that it obliged to hang around until at least today given the clear overnight skies and its preference for Mediterranean olive groves rather than south coast bramble patches. My inability to try and see it before today had me assuming that it would be missed, nonetheless I went to Farlington first thing and with other birders present the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler was showing within 45 minutes of getting there, often hidden in the large thorn and bramble clumps it would appear out in full sun with it's tail-pumping action on full display.

The berry-laden bushes contained a large number of Blackcaps, with a few Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat,  and there was a bit of passage with a stream of Swallows and Hose Martins, many Meadow Pipits, Pied Wagtails and Grey Wagtail.

The Bearded Tit population appeared healthy and potentially signs of a successful breeding season. I saw one party of 9 birds and two other groups of 3 and 4 birds. The only waders on lagoon were Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit and a handful of Dunlin and on the Saltmarsh a Greenshank plus a Curlew Sandpiper.

I moved counties back to Sussex and to Church Norton. Despite the bright blue skies, a strengthening wind kept any activity low and it was very quiet in the bushes surrounding the harbour with just a single Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat giving brief views, although I did see a Clouded Yellow butterfly, my first of the year. I waited for tide to come into the harbour watching the activities of the common waders, although not in large numbers, it was nice to see the Knot, Dunlin, Grey Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ringed Plover and Turnstone. A couple of Golden Plover a single Avocet and a Whimbrel gave some variety and a swoop by a Sparrowhawk and then a Peregrine scattered the flocks before they returned to feed.

Eastern Olivaceous Warbler

Curlew Sandpiper

Curlew Sandpiper

Whimbrel