Hume's Leaf Warbler, Warks

In full twitching spirit, I caught the train into Warwickshire yesterday morning to hook up with the long-staying Hume's Leaf Warbler that has taken up temporary residence in a business park North of Coleshill. The bird had been on my 'eyeing up list' for a while, and whilst I was hoping for some nice views of this rare Asian vagrant, in reality it was an elusive little bugger which very rarely strayed into view for more than a few seconds; frantically feeding through dense bramble cover along a dirt track.

During a few more prolonged views in the afternoon, the warbler eventually showed off some arousing wing-bars, but it was call that really gave away the bird's presence; the two notes being more disjointed (disyllabic to be fancy) than the otherwise almost identical Yellow-browed. Like the Redwing recording the other day, this one is of rubbish quality, and I apologies in advance for all the squelching...



The warbler has only been here for a few weeks, but it's already been leaving its mark on the local area. This was a nearby bridge, covered in Phylloscopus gang signs...

No doubt there will be more gang friction between this bird and the local Chiffchaffs as its stay continues, especially with a Siberian tristis type Chiffchaff apparently hanging about too.