The Lincolnshire Bird Club

I reckon that 30 secs is not long enough when you are completely taken by surprise with no optical aids to hand, but this is just what happened to me this morning at 10.30

Moving through the Hawthorn bushes at the bottom of the garden was a heavy build Warbler showing pale lemon-yellow which seemed to extend from chin to tail. Legs were dark. I can't comment on anything else as it all happened so quickly. Bill seemed straight and spike like. Even on this very flimsy evidence I'm inclined to seriously consider Icterine although I'm sure that I should not discount Melodious but they are both confusingly similar and require careful reliable separation. From time to time I have noted Chiffchaff appearing with very greenish to yellowish buff underside but this bird was Garden Warbler size.

I'm tending to rule out Melodious as it breeds no further north than NW France and I understand that the few autumn records for this species seem to be more or less confined to S England.

That now leads me back to Icterine again.
I would have expected it to have been much greyer as autumn approaches although I understand that complete moult is usually after arrival at winter quarters and it is still July (just).

I suspect that this is a bird that has failed to breed this summer or has suffered a brood failure
(not been a most predictable summer) and has decided to steadily make its way back to tropical and southern Africa to savannah woodland- how lucky can some birds be). We did have a change of wind direction mid week to NE for about 48 hours which may have been a part of the equation!

Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated. Incidentally by the time I had rushed in doors for my bins/camera it had gone. No further contact later today despite an intensive search.


George Bishop