Just like a Christmas card..

Well, we've only got another 3 weeks to go for this year. The weather is turning decidedly chilly outside and the birding is getting into the Winter doldrums. The usual suspects are hanging on - hawfinches, parrot crossbills, snow buntings - but no new mega birds turning up.  Last year we had Siberain accentors and dusky thrushes, but this year at least I had the chance to go and see a juvenile barred warbler which has taken up residence at Titchfield Haven on the South coast. These are regular visitors to our shores, but not in large numbers. They are quite large birds in the same family (Sylvia) as whitethroats and breed in Poland, Russia and down to Kazakhstan. This one was showing well in the garden behind the visitor centre at Titchfield, a coastal reserve where I saw the greater yellowlegs two years ago. Photos showed it munching away on the cotoneaster berries!
The traffic was quite light and I got there about 8 and parked up to a lovely dawn over the Solent.

It was only a short walk to the visitor centre where 4 other birders were already staking out the area. The visitor centre is quite small and the garden was accessible without going in, which was good as it didn't open til 9.30! There were 4 or 5 clumps of suitable berry-laden bushes and a number of house sparrows and assorted finches were already starting to perch up in the weak sun. Apparently the barred had one favourite bush which it fed on, so we set up in front of that, trying to keep warm in the keen wind blowing down the channel.

Gradually as the sun got a bit higher and almost came onto the berries the birds started to move around a bit more and we saw a large grey shape pop into the bush. A few seconds later and we could see it starting to appear into view.

 In breeding finery they have a light barring pattern across their chest, hence the name, but this juvenile was fairly plain grey with a white chest and throat. It soon started to tuck into the berries though, plucking them off and eating them whole. The scene seemed very Christmasy with the red berries and would have made a good card if we had already done ours this year!

I have seen these every year for the past few years but normally they are lurkers in bushes and not very showy. This was totally different, not being worried by the photographers who were no more than 10 yards away. It was just interested in shoving as many berries down itself as it could. A pattern of behaviour soon became apparent. It would feed for 3 or 4 minutes then move off, either into the hedge nearby or over our heads into another garden before returning 20 minutes later presumably having partially digested its breakfast. I do like the look in the eye of the first one as it eyes up a juicy berry!

When it did sit for a bit digesting you see how cold it was feeling, as it would fluff up its feathers to try and keep warm, something with which I very much sympathised as by now I was feeling a tad chilly myself!

After it paid a visit at around 10.30 it must have decided it was full and had not returned by 11.30. I was freezing by then so I called it a day and went for a deserved coffee and sandwich back in the car. I did see it was still around later, kept there by the largesse of berries no doubt. A cracking bird and lovely to see it so close. Lets hope it manages to find its way back home, though hanging around till January would be nice as the 2018 list isn't far off!!!