Sunday 17th December: Yellow-Browed Warbler

 We visited Ferring Rife today, hoping for a late addition to the year list with reports of a Yellow-browed Warbler via a local WhatsApp group. On our arrival there were a number of other birders present, and the bird had recently been seen, but it was apparently quite mobile, flitting across the rife and along the hedgerows, but often returning to a favoured tree.

After some time, we spotted the bird flitting Goldcrest style amongst the branches of the hawthorn tree with ivy growing through. It was not easy to track, but glimpses of wingbar, the pale pinkish bill and of course the famed yellow brow, proved conclusive in confirming it was not a crest but our target bird.

In poor light, photography was not easy, and Tim couldn’t manage more than a blurry silhouette. However  we got chatting to some fellow birders, and Chris has kindly agreed I can use his super photo shown below.

Yellow-browed Warbler (Chris McGrath)

This is only my second sighting of this species, and I confess I found the first one somewhat underwhelming. Warblers, are not the showiest of birds but this time I was readily able to pick out the key features, so it was a rewarding tick, and probably my last of the year, so good to find.