A singing Marsh Warbler was found on June 7th at FloodplainForest Nature Reserve (FFNR) in north Bucks by Gyorgy Szimuly, and within a short time a female was also discovered. The birds were favouring suitable breeding habitat, so news was restricted in order to keep disturbance to a minimum. Fortunately a good number of local birders did manage to see the birds, providing many people with a county or life tick.
The female was extremely secretive and although the male was showing and singing to begin with it became much quieter as the month progressed. In early July food carrying was observed and on one date there was activity suggestive of the young fledging but this could not be confirmed.
Whilst it is hoped that they successfully fledged young, this was not proven and there were no confirmed sightings after early July of either young or adults.
The pair were not easy to photograph, especially the female. The male did show quite well at times while singing, but often partially hid in the vegetation. The following photos show the male over several days and shows the main features of the bird that allow it to be separated from Reed Warbler.
