Shriek of the Week: Sedge Warbler
Glitch of the ditch
If there was a prize for angriest sounding bird of Britain, sedge warblers would be in with a shout. And that shout would be quite irritable.
A summer visitor to wetlands and soggy spots up and down the UK, sedge warblers deliver a frenetic jumble of buzzes, chirrups and whistles.
The song is very similar to that of reed warbler, with which sedge warblers often live in close proximity. This is not especially helpful.
However, sedge warblers can’t maintain a steady pace to their song, chopping and changing the rhythm, and throwing in one-off sounds (especially that whistle).
You might imagine a digital bird with a bad connection, glitching out, getting stuck in a loop, and generally malfunctioning.
Unlike reed warblers, sedge warblers also have a simple song-flight. Every once in a while they will throw themselves a little way above the bramble, hawthorn or patch of reeds they’ve been hidden in, and then sail back into cover as their song subsides.
And being curious beasts, they sometimes come close to check out a human observer. The birds jump and clamber expertly through the vegetation, and - if you’re lucky - poke out their distinctively, marvellously stripy head.
Sedge warblers are much more widely distributed than reed warblers, occurring throughout the island of Ireland and into northern Scotland.
They continue to malfunction audibly through the summer, before heading south towards their wintering grounds in Africa in August and early September.
Often chugging away nearby: Reed Warbler
Links of the week
wilding.radio - listen to live sounds from the beaver enclosure at Knepp, day or night. As I write, I can hear Nightingale, Song Thrush, Robin - and squeaky young Tawny Owls! - in stereoscopic sound. I’m not confident I could identify a swimming beaver yet. But after a few nights of this on the 100% underwater setting, who knows?
Libby - did you know you can borrow audiobooks, for free, via your library membership, on an app? You did? Well it was recent news to me. Depending on your library’s collection, you could try Why Do Birds Suddenly Disappear? by Lev Parisian, or Birdwatching With Your Eyes Closed by Simon Barnes. Or even, you know, books that aren’t about birds. Amazing!
Death & Birds - it’s a wonderful thing when someone elects to share their love of the world in a shape that makes sense to them, however odd that might appear to others. In this case, the results are very special. This Substack publication by Chloe Hope is recently hatched, and already the archive is to be treasured.
The final Sussex birdsong walk of the season…
….is this coming Saturday, at Herstmonceux Castle. We’ll be listening for midsummer birds, and exploring the beautiful grounds of the estate, in a small group. More details and limited tickets available here.
That’s plenty isn’t it? Wherever you are, enjoy the birds.
~ Charlie
Media credits:
Recording by Bob Ashington
Image by Georg_Wietschorke
That's some intense, Jazzy dissonance coming out of these tiny fellows.
Thank you again for the very kind mention, Charlie. I wish you could have seen to what level I freaked out when I discovered Shriek of the Week. I’ve been evangelical about it ever since. Thank you for the beauty you’re contributing to the world, it’s so deeply appreciated. (Ps, wilding.radio on constantly in the background now)