River Warbler, Ham Wall

The River Warbler had been present since mid-day on Friday the 4th June and Brian had travelled down on Saturday to view it. He had given me the opportunity to travel with him but I had declined. I had received my 2nd Covid jab the previous day and having had complications from the first decided it would be safer to remain at home just in case it happened again. Thankfully I was fine, but I had missed the opportunity to add another lifer to my list. 

The Warbler had remained present throughout the whole of the following week and Brian kindly offered to drive back so I had a chance to view it.

We left at 4.30am Saturday morning, with 167 miles on the M25, M3 and A303 ahead of us. Checking on route for any news of the bird's presence. Thankfully as we neared Ham Wall news came through that the Warbler was indeed still present. 

We headed off along the footpath and as we crossed the 2nd bridge we could already hear the River Warbler Reeling. The bird was showing to within 2-3 metres of the footpath as we joined the line of birders already present. We stayed for over 3 hours and the bird showed for the majority of that time. There were brief spells where it would drop out of sight, but would soon reappear at the top of a reed stem and start reeling again. Several Bitterns were heard Booming and two individuals were seen in flight. Great White Egrets were plentiful and were seen in flight frequently.

River Warbler

The return journey home was broken up by a stop at Thursley Common. Where we heard and soon viewed several Dartford Warblers on the heathland. Our other target, Redstart proved much more challenging, but we eventually had good views of two males. The small pools dotted around the heath were a magnet for Hobbies with several close encounters during the visit. Cuckoos were calling close by and a single Woodlark was found feeding on the ground close to the car park. 

Thursley Common

The life list now sits at 397, slowing edging towards the 400 target.