Great Reed Warbler, male. Besthorpe NR, Nottinghamshire. DSC_1055.jpg
The great reed warbler breeds in Europe and the west Palearctic. It does not breed in Great Britain, but is an irregular visitor. Its population has in recent decades increased around the eastern Baltic Sea, while it has become rarer at the western end of its range. It is a migratory bird, wintering in tropical Africa. This bird migrates north at a rather late date, and some birds remain in their winter quarters until the end of April (Wiki).
It is about the size of a thrush and the largest European warbler.
It was an overcast morning which was limiting for photography, sun came out mid-late morning, but had moved around too far, becoming more of hindrance. The bird kept his distance in mid reed bed, bar two very brief forays into the nearest reeds, the first chasing smaller Reed Warblers off his performance pitch. He also tended to frequent a particular set of reed stems for his singing recitals. This puts it at a very extreme range for photos, especially with a strip of tall reeds in front of the block of reeds where it sings most visibly.
Nevertheless, it was a great experience to see and hear this bird, for the first time for me.
Apologies to those who commented on and faved a previous photo of this bird that I posted, I wasn't too happy with the grain upon enlargement using Flickr's magnifier on my iMac, hence the removal of the earlier post.
Thank you for your faves and comments, which are much appreciated.
Great Reed Warbler, male. Besthorpe NR, Nottinghamshire. DSC_1055.jpg
The great reed warbler breeds in Europe and the west Palearctic. It does not breed in Great Britain, but is an irregular visitor. Its population has in recent decades increased around the eastern Baltic Sea, while it has become rarer at the western end of its range. It is a migratory bird, wintering in tropical Africa. This bird migrates north at a rather late date, and some birds remain in their winter quarters until the end of April (Wiki).
It is about the size of a thrush and the largest European warbler.
It was an overcast morning which was limiting for photography, sun came out mid-late morning, but had moved around too far, becoming more of hindrance. The bird kept his distance in mid reed bed, bar two very brief forays into the nearest reeds, the first chasing smaller Reed Warblers off his performance pitch. He also tended to frequent a particular set of reed stems for his singing recitals. This puts it at a very extreme range for photos, especially with a strip of tall reeds in front of the block of reeds where it sings most visibly.
Nevertheless, it was a great experience to see and hear this bird, for the first time for me.
Apologies to those who commented on and faved a previous photo of this bird that I posted, I wasn't too happy with the grain upon enlargement using Flickr's magnifier on my iMac, hence the removal of the earlier post.
Thank you for your faves and comments, which are much appreciated.