Aquatic Warbler

Every year a few Aquatic Warblers pass through the Netherlands at the end of July and beginning of August and are most often seen near the North Sea coast. Normally they are not easy to see, but today there is one reported near Wassenaar (Lentevreugd) who is showing itself without too much difficulty. At the end of the morning, the DBA (rare bird alerts) reports that there are two! As I will be in the area I have the opportunity to visit this warbler, who is still missing on my list.

Around 2.30pm I park the car and soon I can see a group of birders focused on a small reed bed. As I join them, I immediately have a perfect view of one of the Aquatic Warblers! For a few minutes it stays in perfect view and then disappears for a while. About 50 meters to the right I spot the second one, or is it the same one? As it slowly begins to rain, we see the two Aquatic Warblers together and quite close to us! We can take unique photos of the two warblers together and for a second it appeared that there are three, but the third is a common Sedge Warbler. On the photos the difference is quite clear: the heavy stripped back, the pale crown-stripe and the streaked rump for the Aquatic and diffuse streaked back, plain rump and no crown-stripe for the Sedge. As the birds disappear into the reed, the rain starts to fall and soon it becomes very wet and I make my way back to the car, happy with the photos and a new bird on the life list.