Friday, June 17, 2011

No Wood Warbler

Made a brief early evening visit, last night, to check on Jeff & Andy's Wood Warbler. Not a sight nor sound. It may still be around and keeping its head down, but I strongly suspect that it has moved on.
The weather conspired to prevent me checking Ian Scotts site but I hope to re-visit this and perhaps the Crimsworth site soon....weather permitting.
The literature suggests that the males continue to sing whilst breeding, so there's hope yet. It would be a shame if all three sightings turn out to be of a single (or several) un-paired males.
Had a pair of Blackcaps carrying food to nest and one or more Spotted Flycatchers nearby......oh yeah....and lots of midges!
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3 comments:

Jeff Cox said...

Well done Steve. To add to the tale of local Wood Warblers, I had one singing in Shaw Wood just down the hill from our house that stayed around for 3 days in May but hasn't been seen or heard since.

6:24 pm
Steve Cummings said...

What date was the Shaw Wood one Jeff? I half expect early birds may stop off and sing for a bit before moving north. On the other hand, it may have paired up, mated and shut up. The books suggest they continue to sing once nesting is under way but the books are not always right.????
Grasshopper Warblers go quiet once paired up......according to the books.
Redstarts, (according to Buxton), sing to attract a female, go quiet whilst she builds the nest, sing once the nest is completed, sings a little whilst the hen is laying, goes into full song whilst the hen is incubating and then shuts up once the chicks hatch. The first part repeats itself as the pair go through several failed attempts to build a nest and the whole cycle is repeated during the subsequent second and third broods.
At the other extreme, Yellowhammers appear to sing continually.
The status and breeding successes of our Wood Warblers, Redstarts and Pied Flycatchers are a big mystery that could do with further study. There's no escaping the fact that it needs a lot of "observer-hours" to shed some light on what is happening.

10:30 pm
Jeff Cox said...

Wood Warbler singing in Shaw Wood on 2nd and 4th May. Nothing since.

12:27 pm

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