Tuesday 11 June 2013

Reed and Sedge Warbler

Two small, brown birds. Both come to Britain in the summer months in fairly large numbers in order to breed. They like spending their time in reed beds or thick undergrowth and they both have pretty similar songs.

Reed Warbler

Sedge Warbler
Below is a short video of the two birds in question, hopefully showing the difference in the two songs. The first bird is the Reed Warbler, a song which is 'chatty' and slow paced, consisting mostly of jittery notes which are repeated 2-3 times, interrupted by occasional mimicry or whistles. The second is the Sedge Warbler with a Reed Warbler in the background, this song is a series of long, loud sequences of not very varied excited notes relieved by rapid cascades of trills and whistles and occasional mimicry.


14 comments:

  1. Thats very helpful - this song id has been troubling me for a while! Thanks

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    1. Hope it helped Peter!
      Thanks for the comment and the 'Follow'. :)
      J

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  2. A very nice video John. I've been listening to both species but the colder breezes have been keeping them both out of sight!

    Good to see your wet, windy visit to Oare was successful.

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    1. Thanks Frank,
      Who can blame them, keeping out of this rather unseasonal weather that we have been experiencing!
      Yes, the visit to Oare was successful, if a little on the damp side!
      J

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  3. Super shots and video John.
    I have not had a chance to see either of these yet this year.

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    1. Thanks Roy,
      I know there have been a few at Ferry Meadows, indeed my first of both birds this year were there.
      J

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  4. Pretty birds and lovely photos. The colors are beautiful.

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    1. Thanks Eileen,
      The sunlight helps to make the colours stand out more.
      J

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  5. Hi John Yes I liked the video and your explanation about the 2 species. Very helpful. I have not seen a Reedarbler this year yet but we don't get too many of them here in N.I. Margaret

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    1. Thanks Margaret,
      Didn't realise that you had low numbers in Northern Ireland, but then again, there is a lot that I don't know about a lot of things!
      J

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  6. Very helpful to be able to hear the difference as well as see it John.

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    1. Thanks John,
      Hope it helped in some small way.
      J

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  7. A lovely little clip John... and I have to admit to having plenty of both species up in my little patch of Cheshire.

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    1. Thanks Andrew,
      Yes, we are lucky here too, there seems to plenty about.
      J

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