Reed Warbler
Ditch rhythm, enduring chugger
Many of our summer visitors have watered down their vocal efforts by mid-July, but across much of England the reed warblers have plenty of welly left to give.
Odd isolated sounds from reed warblers can be tricky to pin down. The bird making the noise will often be tucked away, low along a reedy ditch or pondside, or out in the thick of a reedbed. From there they can frustrate you with anonymous squeaks, whirrs and chirrups.
But once warmed up, reed warblers give themselves away with rhythm as well as repertoire.
Reed warblers make all kinds of noise, but they like to repeat a short phrase two or three times, change, repeat something else a few times, and change again.
It’s rather like the approach taken by the song thrush, but reed warblers don’t pause between the changes, and they chug away at a fair lick. In beats per minute they’re high-tempo disco or hard rock. Around about I’m So Excited by the Pointer Sisters, or Riff Raff by AC/DC.
Like many other warblers, reed warblers are skilful mimics and like to stitch other noises into their song. Listen at 54 and 58 seconds in to the recording above and you may hear a familiar garden bird sound.
Though often hard to see at first, reed warblers like to move around while they sing, and have a habit of jumping up the reed stems until they’re in view.
The plain brown colouring, strong bill and pale throat are the clearest features, while the lack of a strong black eye-stripe separates them from the similar-sounding sedge warbler (next week’s featured shrieker).
Reed warblers raise one or two broods, mainly of their own young but including a few cuckoos, before disappearing back to central and southern Africa in early autumn.
Did you hear mimicry in the reed warbler’s song above? Can you identify it?
Events now booking:
Would you like to learn to identify birdsong as part of a friendly group during the Spring? The online British Birdsong Essentials course runs again from February 2022.
Focusing on around 25 common resident and summer migrant species, and including access to audio guides for another 35+ species, the Essentials course takes place over ten weeks and follows the build up of the dawn chorus until its peak in early May. More details on the Birdsong Academy website.
Meanwhile if you’re within striking distance of East Sussex this autumn, you can join a walking workshop in September (Hastings Country Park) or November (Pevensey Levels).
There’s a new Shriek of the Week every Sunday*
Except this week, when it was Tuesday. Apologies. Blame extra time.