Rarely-seen warbler wings its way from Eastern Asia to Hertfordshire

11,500 km away from normal migration route

November 2011: An eastern crowned warbler, only the second ever to be recorded in Britain, has been spotted in Hertfordshire.

RARE SIGHT: The eastern-crowned warbler

Every year a number of birds arrive in the UK from far-flung countries, having taken a different migratory route, perhaps because they are programmed to search out new territories. But the eastern crowned warbler at Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust's Hilfield Reservoir was a staggering 11,500km off its usual migration path.

First of its kind to be ringed in Britain
Bird ringers caught what they had originally thought was a yellow-browed warbler, which in itself would be a rare bird for Hertfordshire. But, after checking some features that puzzled them, it turned out to be something much more unexpected. 

The bird is the first of its kind to be ringed in Britain.

After ringing, they released the warbler into woodland on the perimeter of the site but in spite of the attention of a great many enthusiasts scouring the trees from the adjacent road, the bird was not seen again.

'This is the bird-watching equivalent of winning the lottery'
Tim Hill, conservation manager with Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust said: ‘In birdwatching terms, this is the equivalent of winning the lottery. These birds breed from eastern Siberia to Japan and spend the winter in Bangladesh and southeast Asia - to find one in a nature reserve in Hertfordshire, next to the M1 is quite extraordinary.

‘The bird was ringed by members of the Maple Cross Ringing Group who carry out monitoring of birds at Hilfield Park Reservoir in conjunction with the Trust. The information is used to plan management of this important
wetland nature reserve.'