River Warbler

The gorgeous weather tempted me to catch the early train to Hillerød to seek out the River Warbler that had been reported for the last couple of days. I heard what I thought was a snatch of River Warbler song when Libby and I were on Bornholm in May but unfortunately we didn't have time to investigate it properly, so it would be a new bird for me in Denmark. It was a beautiful still morning when I arrived at the forest area and immediately I could hear the bird, even though I was probably about half a kilometre away at that point. It was singing constantly (it sounds like a cicada) and luckily, when I arrived at the right place, it was singing from a birch tree right beside the path. It showed pretty well for a species known to be secretive and elusive and sang almost constantly for the hour and a half I was there. Amazingly, I didn't see another birder - bliss!

The habitat in the surrounding area was very impressive - lots of wet, boggy birch forest with open meadows. It looked great for Corncrake, too, but despite my efforts I couldn't hear one. A bit further along, there were two pairs of Red-backed Shrikes obviously feeding young in the nest. They were hunting from the tops of bushes, mostly catching wasps. It is great to see these birds - once common across England - doing well in open heath areas, not dissimilar habitat to the Brecks.

Photos below: River Warbler; adult male Red-backed Shrike