Phylloscopusfest

The day dawned wet, so I donned waterproofs and welly boots and strode out into the very dull dawn. It was obvious that there were new birds about, with crests seemingly coming off of the beach and taking cover in the low broom and gorse. I watched a dozen move through the lighthouse garden and head inland. An area of vegetation on the beach came up trumps - the chacking call immediately alerted me to the presence of a Dusky Warbler, and unlike the bird of two days ago, this one was quite showy, particularly for the first ten minutes of observation. No identification problems here...

Very soon the great and the good of Dungeness had gathered and were able to get their fill. But, like buses another warbler came along, this time a Yellow-browed that had been found by Sean O in the lighthouse garden. Typically restless, this bird played hard to get, but patience was rewarded. Both were still present at dusk.

Good photos of the bird can be seen on both the Dungeness Bird Observatory website and the Ploddingbirder blog.

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