Category: Warblers

Keith Smith sent me these images of a leucistic Willow Warbler, with plumage reminiscent of a domestic Canary, recently photographed at Summer Leys. It was along the old railway track at the far end of the reserve (opposite end to the car park) frequently dropping down out of view to feed, then appearing again in the same general area.

Leucistic Willow Warblers are rare but not without precedent. There are two recent, similarly striking, examples from Scotland involving returning breeding individuals (paired to ‘normal’ Willow Warblers) with a female on Mull in 2003 and 2004 www.mullbirds.com/Leucistuc%20Warbler.html and a male near Dalry, north Ayrshire in 2010 and again this year www.lizworld.com/Leucistic/Leucistic_WW.html.

Publishing this rather nice photo by Bob Bullock of the singing male Wood Warbler, present for its third day today at South Wood near Corby, seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. Wood Warbler is a scarce spring passage migrant in Northants with between two and four records annually. There are a handful of autumn records and the species has occasionally bred.