Warbler Workshop
Warbler I.D. Course 2nd & 4th April
Most warblers are migrants and arrive here as welcome harbingers of spring and, as such, are particularly popular birds. Around a dozen members of the WVBS gathered one April evening at Sparham Village Hall, where we were privileged to have the undivided attention of Steve Cale, whose phenomenal knowledge and boundless enthusiasm are legendary. He helped us to come to grips with this special group of birds, first by describing the general features they have in common and then explaining that they may be subdivided into groups according to which family they belong. To avoid too much confusion, he concentrated only on those warblers which we would be most likely to encounter.
The Phylloscopus group includes the Willow Warbler, Chiff-Chaff and Wood Warbler, which are small, found in woodland or scrub and are usually greenish-yellow in colour.
The Acrophalus and Locustella groups include the Reed, Sedge, Cetti’s and Grasshopper warblers and are larger than the Phylloscopus warblers and have longer bills. They tend to be brownish and are found around water and reed beds and are often very difficult to see.
The Sylvia group includes the Blackcap, Garden and Dartford warblers, Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat. They have a long tail, often cocked, and look short winged and move more boldly than other warblers. They tend to show greys, pinks or buffs and are found in hedgerows, scrub and woodland.
Strictly speaking, the Regulus group of birds, which includes the Goldcrest and Firecrest, are not true warblers but are similar in appearance and so were included in the programme. They are tiny, with bright wing bars and head markings and a short tail. They move around quickly in trees and scrub and their high pitched, thin calls often indicate their presence, long before they are seen.
Many warblers are very difficult to spot due to being well camouflaged or because some, like Cetti’s Warbler, stay out of sight in thick bushes or, in the case of the Grasshopper Warbler, are extremely secretive and skulk in dense undergrowth. It is therefore important that we should be able to recognise their song, as this may be our only means of identification of the individual bird. It is also helpful to know what type of habitat a particular warbler is likely to frequent and this, combined with becoming familiar with its song, should help to ensure a correct identification, even if an actual sighting of the bird eludes us.
Each family group was dealt with very comprehensively, the main features being illustrated with the aid of two screens, one showing slides and the other being a presentation of digital photographs from a laptop. Steve also incorporated an audio recorder, as appropriate, to help us to learn the characteristic song of each warbler. He was at pains to teach us how to differentiate, for example, between the songs of a Blackcap and a Garden warbler, those of a Sedge Warbler and a Reed Warbler and also the difference between the song of a Whitethroat and that of a Lesser Whitethroat. We even had a light hearted test at the end of the proceedings and most of us did reasonably well. How proficient we would be in the field might be another matter!
As a follow up to this session, we had an outing a couple of days later to Swanton Morley gravel pits and soon after arriving, heard the unmistakable loud explosive outbursts of song from a Cetti’s warbler, well hidden in thick willows. Soon afterwards we heard, and then had good sightings of, a Blackcap, and later heard and saw a Chiffchaff. Considering this was still very early in April, we felt quite fortunate. We noted a variety of birds on the water, including Gadwall, Shoveller, and five pairs of Great-crested Grebes. The song of Skylarks was another delight and a special treat was to spot our first Swallow of the season. Upon returning to the car park we were assailed by a loud encore, performed by the Cetti’s warbler – a fitting conclusion to a very interesting morning.
I’m sure we are all grateful to Steve and also to Alwyn, for giving up his time again, to accompany us. We also much appreciate the fact that the Society has agreed to subsidise these workshops, which have been extremely helpful and enjoyable.
Rosemary & George Northall