Yesterday, my wife Jo came in from the garden to tell me about a squeaky little ‘whitish’ bird in our one and only birch tree. Needless to say, when I went to look, said bird had scarpered. However, today, at ‘Elevenses’ time, I was in the garden and heard a slight note from a bird in the birch. I looked up and was surprised to see a Phylloscopus warbler, there. I grabbed the camera and took some awful shots instead of examining its wings or behaviour etc. I think it is probably a Chiffchaff, but I would need better views (and photos) to rule out Willow Warbler 100%. The photos make it look a tad scruffy (which is pro-Chiffchaff), but I didn’t get that impression in the brief real-life view. I hope it is there again later… Either way, it is pleasing that our humble city garden can attract warblers at all. We are sort of aiming for the garden being a bit like a woodland glade, and if the birds believe that is what it is then we must be doing something half-right.
Probable Chiffchaff, our garden, Peterborough, Cambs 30.7.20
I popped out again a bit later to add some water to the ‘drinking pond’. When it was ' more or less full, I went to check it, and a bold little adult Robin had come down to start its bath. I nipped in to get my camera. This is the best of what I could capture.
In the evening, I enjoyed sitting in the sunny garden. A flock of 30-odd Swifts were screaming overhead! And even better, I had my second warbler of the day in the garden, a Lesser Whitethroat, a species I can only remember seeing perhaps once or twice in the past, here.
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