Finders-in-the-field: Yellow Warbler, Portland, Dorset, Aug 2017
First off, I’d like to thank the National Grid for a power cut and my mother-in-law for showing up at my house while I had no TV to distract me from her customary woes of the day - a drive out to what had earlier in the day been a relatively migrant-free Portland Bird Observatory suddenly seemed like a very attractive proposition.
On arrival I was greeted by Martin Cade, the warden, who reported that it was still quiet and that he was off out to mow some net-rides in the nearby Crown Estate Field. I decided to give Culverwell a look and was immediately encouraged when a Sedge Warbler responded to my pishing; a second bout of pishing saw a Willow Warbler surface from the sallows before another bird appeared with its back to me; the whole impression of this second bird was of brightness and was enough to start the head racing - a ‘What the **** moment!’ Another frustratingly brief glimpse revealed yellow undertail coverts and pale-fringed primaries but nothing by way of an unobstructed view of the whole bird.
Panic and excitement set in; I knew this was most likely something good and thoughts of the Yellow Warbler that had been reported to have been found in Ireland that morning sprang to mind. Without a phone signal I was unable to summon immediate help and, besides, I hadn’t even seen its head; I took the decision to return to the Obs and get help. On the way back thoughts were running through my head: ‘Am I stuffing up? Could it be something freaky like a xanthistic Willow Warbler?’ A quick check of the field guide revealed there was nothing wrong in what I’d seen for it to be a Yellow Warbler. With the panic rising by the minute I went in search of Martin and, being on crutches, was so knackered by the time I found him that I was only able to blurt out that I’d found a warbler and that it looked amazingly yellow.
In haste, we drove to Culverwell but further pishing drew a blank; after a while a couple of unfamiliar chipping calls were heard that reminded me of a call I’d heard when I first encountered the bird. To follow these up Martin moved into an old net-ride through the sallow clump and after ten minutes there was a sudden arresting shout: ‘It’s here looking down at me – it’s a Yellow Warbler!’ Punching the air, I did a little dance that only the disabled and Stephen Hawking can do! The bird quickly vanished back into cover but, on moving into the net-ride, it wasn’t long before I too was treated to my first view of the entire bird when it popped out right in front of me.
Once the euphoria died down we begun to realise both the enormity of the situation and the need to get news of this not only first for Dorset but also first for mainland Britain into general circulation. The lack of a phone signal meant Martin had to return to the Obs to get the news out but it wasn’t long before the first local birders came rushing to the scene.
For a few hours the bird proved frustratingly difficult to get to grips with: it was clearly quite active, mobile and occasionally vocal but largely stayed within the sallow clump and only rarely afforded more than tantalising glimpses in the open or brief flight views; towards dusk it became more vocal and visible, even flycatching at times from the tree tops, although by this time the views in relatively poor light imparted the impression of a bird with subdued plumage tones and perhaps didn’t convey to the gathering crowd quite how vividly bright it had looked in sunshine during the afternoon.
Surprisingly, considering the bird almost certainly arrived overnight or earlier in the day in the wake of the passing of the remains of Hurricane Gert and might have been expected to make a longer recuperative stay, this late flurry of activity proved to be the precursor to it moving on and it could not be found the next day. It’s estimated that at least 200 birders connected in the few hours that the bird was available.
Duncan Walbridge
29 August 2017
Yellow Warbler, Portland, Dorset, Aug 2017
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