A Cheshire Birders Blog: A Mainland First: Green Warbler at Buckton Trapped, ringed, and twitchable on the east coast

Thursday, September 09, 2021

A Mainland First: Green Warbler at Buckton Trapped, ringed, and twitchable on the east coast

News broke at 1 p.m. that a Green Warbler had been trapped and ringed at Buckton by Mark Thomas. Having dipped this species twice before, once on Shetland and once on Lundy Island, the news immediately sent my heart racing. A quick phone call later, I was off with Malc Curtin and Fred Fearne, arriving on site by 4:30 p.m.

There were already well over 100 Twitchers on site.

The bird had been absent for over four hours, with only the occasional shout for Willow Warblers or a brief Pied Flycatcher appearance. At 17:30, the Green Warbler finally appeared at the bottom of a gap leading into a willow tree. I managed excellent views, unaware that Malc and Fred hadn’t yet connected with the bird. Over the next few hours, it remained elusive, making the drive home a little frustrating, but the following day, it was still being seen by others, thankfully.

The Green Warbler (Phylloscopus nitidus) is a summer visitor to northern Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern Iran, wintering predominantly on the Indian subcontinent. In Britain, it is an extremely rare vagrant, though recent years have seen a notable increase in records thanks to improved identification and ringing work. Before Buckton, only six records had been accepted:

2019 – Lizard Village, Cornwall (2CY+, 10 June, trapped, photo, DNA analysis)
2018 – Lundy Island, Devon (1CY, 7 October)
2017 – Fair Isle, Shetland (2CY+ female, 4–7 July, trapped, photo, DNA analysis)
2016 – Baltasound, Unst, Shetland (2CY+, 12–15 May, trapped, photo, DNA analysis)
2014 – Foula, Shetland (2CY+, 31 May–4 June)
1983 – Lower Broome, St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly (first winter, 26 September–4 October)

Despite its mega status in Britain, the species has occurred almost annually since 2016, and increasing awareness among birders suggests this trend is likely to continue. The Buckton bird was particularly notable as one of the first truly mainland twitchable Green Warblers, giving many birders their first chance to connect with this stunning Phylloscopus in situ.