Bittern and Willow warbler singing early at WWT London

A Willow warbler has been singing unusually early at WWT London

Early birds confused by late spring
February 2010. Reports that spring may be delayed this year do not seem to have reached the birds at WWT London Wetland Centre.  Some birds have already surprised staff and visitors by singing unusually early.

First bittern
Birdwatchers heard the first bittern ‘booming’ in early January this year.  Male bittern normally make their distinctive mating call from April onwards in an effort to attract a mate.  The call is a ‘booming’ noise which carries through reedbeds and can be heard up to at least two miles away.  While five of these secretive birds have been spotted at the centre this winter - an unusually high number, especially for a site so close to the heart of London - this is the first record of one booming at London Wetland Centre.  There are roughly 75 breeding male bitterns in the UK.

Willow warbler
And to add to the confusion this week a willow warbler has been heard singing on the edge of the Wetland Centre site.  These small songbirds typically spend summer in the UK and fly south for the winter. Willow warbler typically fly over 3,000 miles to West Africa.  The centre's staff are amazed at this bird's early arrival and are keen to discover if this is the first willow warbler to be heard calling this year anywhere in the country. 

Adam Salmon, Reserve Manager, said "It is totally unprecedented for a willow warbler to be singing this early. We would usually see these birds arriving in the UK from mid March, and singing towards the beginning of April."

It is possible that unusual weather in southern Europe or West Africa, where the warbler is likely to have been spending winter, may have encouraged the bird to fly home early.

WWT London Wetland Centre is a 105 acre wildlife haven close to the heart of the capital.  Over 180 bird species have been recorded on site and it is also home to eight species of bat, a thriving colony of water voles (the UK’s most endangered mammal), amphibians, reptiles, moths, butterflies and dragonflies.  Some exceptionally rare sightings have been recorded over the 10 years that the site has been open including Roesel’s bush cricket, Nathusius’ pipistrelle and Leisler’s bats, cattle egret, night heron, Montagu’s harrier, lesser emperor dragonfly and white-spotted bluethroat. 

The reserve is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and was recently described by Chris Packham, BBC Springwatch presenter, as “one of the most important conservation projects of the past century… giving millions of people the opportunity to encounter wildlife up close.”