My new superzoom replacement camera came this week and I wanted to try it out, so this afternoon I drove over to the Cotswold Water Park where yesterday someone had photographed a grasshopper warbler by Lake 82.
I've heard but never seen one of these birds, as they are quite elusive but decided it would worth trying to locate it. I parked in the Waterhay Car park and went along the bridleway then turned left along the Thames path which leads past lake 82. A few butterflies were enjoying the sunshine... Brimstone, peacock and orange tip and a white which flew past too quickly to identify.
On reaching Lake 82, I stopped next to a bramble hedge where a sedge warbler was singing lustily and almost immediately heard the reeling of a grasshopper warbler quite close, but on the opposite side of the hedge where it couldn't be seen. After a while it stopped and I concentrated on taking a few pictures of the sedge warbler.
When the reeling began again it was more distant and I realised I would have to try and locate it from a footpath which I had just passed. Another birder turned up and we both waited until we heard it again and then he pointed it out to me, me, rather distant, and down amongst the long grasses! As soon as it finished singing it seemed to disappear out of sight and then creep along and emerge at a different spot in the grass before starting its song again. It did this several times, but not before I'd had a good chance to watch it through my binoculars. When we'd not heard it for a while, my companion left to continue walking along the footpath and I waited alone.
After a while, the reeling began again, closer to the hedge, and I realised that I could probably view the bird from the original footpath through a gap where the hedge was lower which I did, although with its back to me meant I only got a poor record shot!
On my way back to the car, I stopped to enjoy other warblers singing from the bushes along the path; blackcaps, willow warblers, chiffchaff and for the first time this year for me, a garden warbler.As for the camera.. well its a bit early to make any comment but it seems to do the job although I'm still trying to master the settings and new control buttons!
sedge warbler
garden warbler
grasshopper warbler
sedge warbler
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