A beautiful clear sunny morning being calm at dawn although the wind picked-up around midday. I walked to Valyie seeing a number of the usual suspects but was pleased to find 2 Waxwings feeding in the garden there. Whilst photographing the Waxwings I saw a dingy 'Yellow-browed Warbler' in an elder... its sullied underparts and an indistinct median-covert bar had me immediately considering whether it was a Hume's. It flew to a barn covered in ivy where it landed head-height on a plinth and I quickly rattled off a couple of images before it all-too-quickly returned to the elder and promptly disappeared - it had remained silent throughout. Around 30 minutes later, whilst searching for it, I heard a Pallas's-like but slightly less-slurred call, given three times in succession from the small group of sycamores that sounded very much like a Hume's, but inexplicably and very frustratingly, I couldn't see it (or any Warbler). Robbie arrived and I told him my thoughts, showed him my images, but despite spending another 5 hours searching, it was nowhere to be seen or heard! I'll keep looking... and listening!!
Norwick: Long-tailed Duck, Robin, Song Thrush, 10 Redwing, 2 Fieldfare, 5 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, Brambling, 2 Chaffinch & Snow Bunting.
Waxwing at Valyie
Goldfinch at Norwick
To my mind it appears a very close match to two different Hume's Leaf Warblers photographed in strong sunlight in Finland (from Tarsiger) in respect of its overall dinginess, colour of its upperparts, crown, strength of its eye-stripe, supercilium narrowing over its rear ear-coverts, its sullied underparts and dark bill with restricted orange base to its lower mandible. Whilst I'd've preferred its legs and feet to have appeared blacker they appear little different to the individual photographed at Parainen. I've also included a couple of images of a Yellow-browed Warbler photographed a month ago in similar strong sunlight showing the anticipated purer whiter underparts, broader supercilium etc.
