The late may Bank Holiday has a habit of producing one or two rare birds and this weekend has been no exception. As many of you know, as well as having small numbers golden orioles in the poplar woods, a male red footed falcon has now been present for almost three and a half weeks. I wasn’t working this weekend (it was my Dad’s 60th birthday celebration, happy birthday to him!) so I had a feeling that something good would arrive in my absence. That something turned out to be a Savi’s warbler which apart from being very rare, it is also my second favourite bird behind the wonderful woodlark.
If you are not familiar with this species, it is named after the Italian ornithologist Paolo Savi. It is closely related to the grasshopper warbler. The main differences between the two are as follows. Firstly, the “Savi” is a bit bigger than the “grasshopper”. Secondly, Savi’s warbler song is a lot deeper and "buzzier" than grasshopper warbler. If you are wondering what all of the fuss is about, these birds use to nest in Britain in very small numbers and are now a rare visitor to Britain. Their main stronghold is in Eastern Europe (which is ironically also the case for the red footed falcon!)
The bird was first found on Saturday morning and it was singing in the reedbed just east (the visitor centre side) of Joist Fen viewpoint. It was a first record for the reserve and one that I said would eventually turn up here one day. It was just typical that it chose to turn up on a day that I wasn’t here!
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the reserve has been very busy this weekend. There has just been so much to see! The red footed falcon was entertaining the crowds over New Fen North on Saturday and a male golden oriole showed itself briefly in Trial Wood (the middle poplar wood). Here is one that was photographed last year:
Photo credit: Paul Foster
The Savi’s warbler showed itself on and off for most of the day.
Excitement almost reached fever pitch proportions yesterday. As well as the red footed falcon and Savi’s warbler still being present, a probably bee eater was heard flying over Joist Fen viewpoint and a first summer male pied flycatcher was found in Trial Wood. Wow!
I eventually returned from my weekend away and naturally headed straight down the reserve without a second thought. My dad (the birthday boy!) was in two and I showed him his first ever red footed falcon (that’s not a bad birthday present now is it?!) It was perched up in a dead tree on the eastern edge of West Wood and it was showing beautifully.
I could hear a grasshopper warbler reeling between Trial Wood and West Wood and I was surprised that the Savi’s warbler’s song wasn’t really carrying that far. We eventually got within hearing distance of said bird and after a worrying 15 minutes or so, it did show itself beautifully. Hooray! It was my second ever Savi’s warbler in Britain. (My first was at RSPB Lodmoor in May 2011 just in case you are interested!)
Needless to say, on the way back, I felt much more relaxed! We stopped to have another look at the red footed falcon which hadn’t moved (it isn’t stuffed, honestly!) and there were two grasshopper warblers singing between Trial Wood and West Wood. One was showing very well, so that was another great birthday present for my dad (who is also a birder by the way!) A bittern was booming in New Fen North and a cuckoo flew over the reedbed.
Just before it was time to leave, we had a good look at the water violet that is still “showing well” alongside Trial Wood and I found a plant that I think was celery leaved buttercup. I will have to look it up though. Our last sighting of the evening was a roe deer that wondered across the entrance track as we drove out. The weekend turned out OK after all. We hope to see you soon!