Rarest songbird in Europe arrives

ONE of the world’s most endangered birds and Europe’s rarest songbird has been discovered in West Wales.

Two aquatic warblers were spotted within days of each other at the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales reserve near Cardigan.

The pair were among just four to be seen in the UK this year and it is the first time the warblers have been spotted in the area for 15 years.

Conservationists believe the warblers, which were both caught during a routine catching and ringing exercise, were just passing through, but are excited by the find.

“The aquatic warblers ringed were both juveniles and although found on the reserve, they did not breed here – they were just passing through,” said Pembrokeshire Wildlife Trust officer Nathan Walton.

“Nonetheless, it has given us a real sense of pride, knowing that our management of habitats at Teifi Marshes nature reserve is attracting rarities such as this one.”

Teifi Marshes Nature Reserve has been managed by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales since 1979.

The 107 hectare site supports a range of habitats including open pasture, wooded hedgerows, wet woodland, freshwater marsh with open pools and reedbeds, and tidal mudbanks.

The aquatic warbler is a regular but scarce autumn migrant to southern Britain, visiting on its way between breeding grounds in eastern Europe and its winter home in West Africa.

Its dependence on a specialised and vulnerable breeding habitat means it has become a globally threatened and declining species.

Drainage has been the main cause of the once widespread species’ decline and its stronghold is now in the Polesie region of south Belarus, where 70% of the world’s population breeds.

In the UK, it is best looked for in late summer, but can be difficult to see in thick vegetation as it keeps close to the ground or water and creeps along.

The sexes are identical, but young birds are un-streaked on the breast. Like most warblers, it mainly eats insects but will take other small food, including berries.

“In the UK this year, only four aquatic warblers have been ringed, so having half of this number ringed on the Teifi Marshes is fantastic news,” added Mr Walton.

The routine catching and ringing of migrant warblers and other birds on the Teifi Marshes nature reserve is carried out by the Teifi Ringing Group under the Constant Effort Sites scheme (CES). The CES scheme is the first national standardised ringing programme within the British Trust for Ornithology ringing initiative, running since 1983.

Ringers operate the same nets in the same locations over the same time period at regular intervals through the breeding season at 120 sites throughout Britain and Ireland.

The work helps provide valuable trend information on the abundance of adults and juveniles, productivity and also adult survival rates for 25 species of common songbird.

Ringing of migrant warblers involves placing a small identity ring on the birds before releasing them to continue their journey. The warblers are now expected to have flown to their winter home of West Africa.

Richard Dobbins, a member of the Teifi Ringing Group, who found the first warbler, said it was a very exciting discovery.

“The last aquatic warbler ringed on the Teifi Marshes reserve was in 1995,” he said.

“It was an incredibly special moment, particularly as we are the only site that has caught two. When finding such a rare bird, it is important that as well as ringing the birds, we take photos and log the details.

“The likelihood of seeing those ringed birds again here is very small. The whole idea of ringing birds is to follow their movements but I don’t think any aquatic warblers that have been tracked have been re-tracked again in the UK. We are still waiting for that to happen for the first time. It would be very nice if one of our birds was picked up somewhere else on its travels.”