Willow Warbler
Sweet cascader, volume fader
By mid-April, the willow warbler’s song is back with us.
The sound is a cascade of silvery, descending notes, reminiscent of the chaffinch’s stepped descent, but higher, sweeter and more free-flowing.
Rather than ending with a flourish, the willow warbler just gets quiet as it reaches the lowest notes.
It can sound as though someone is quickly fading them out with the volume control.
The willow warbler arrives a little later than its two-tone cousin the chiffchaff, and the two look very much alike.
They are both tiny olive green birds. When we get a good look at a willow warbler we might see that it has lighter, pinkish legs rather than the chiffchaff’s darker ones, or that it has longer wings and a stronger pale line over its eye.
But the two really are very alike, and the song is a more reliable way to tell them apart in the Spring.
During the breeding season willow warblers are found in many kinds of wooded areas, particularly forests and heathland, but also some parks and suburban areas. In the early Spring as they stream in to Britain they can sometimes be heard in other places too.
Our house is in the middle of a town, but it overlooks a few hawthorn trees in our neighbour’s small garden. One or two willow warblers will stop and sing in that little patch in the Spring, perhaps just for a few minutes early one morning, before moving on. It’s a welcome cameo.
And many of our willow warblers are heading further north than they used to. Overall they are still our commonest warbler, with around two million territories in the UK. But they have disappeared from many areas of southern and eastern England in recent years, at the same time as they’ve been slightly increasing further north and west.
Catch them while you can.
Have you heard a willow warbler yet this Spring?
Our Up With The Birds early morning Zoom call tomorrow is now fully subscribed, but there are still tickets for the next event on 24 April - join us (and maybe a willow warbler) then.
~ Charlie, Birdsong Academy
Media credits:
Willow Warbler in autumn at Beachy Head - photograph by Ron Knight reproduced under CC BY 2.0 licence