Thursday 10 June 2010

Marmora's Warbler, Blorenge, Gwent, Wales, 10th June 2010

A visit to The Blorenge with Mike Watson to hopefully see the Marmora's Warbler was the order of the 'early' day. We struggled finding the site which was shrouded in thick mist after we missed our turning (even though Mike had visited days earlier. The mist was that bad. We arrived safely on site just after 0200am and tried for some shut-eye before first light. At 0410am the Marmora’s Warbler singing could be heard from the car, and so we had a walk round to try and locate it through the mist. Its silhouette could be seen from the top of gorse bushes as it sang whilst flying round its territory.
The weather deteriorated and the mist came lower, so we decided to head down the valley to get a brew and a bacon butty in nearby Abergavenny. Having been refreshed we drove back up to the car park, and walked down the road to where more birders were assembled. Usual suspects were around, Tristan Reid, Dave Hutton and the bird didnt disappoint landing feet away from where we all were. No one invaded its privacy and all stayed on the road.
Id seen Marmora's Warbler before in Corsica, so it was nice to get one on me British list. Great day, great company, and a superb bird.