I spent the middle 4 hours of the day trying to get a good look at a Barred Warbler, the largest of the Sylvia warblers, a family that includes Blackcap, Whitethroat, Garden and Dartford Warbler. One has been present at Dawlish Warren National Nature reserve for a couple of days, on migration to Africa. It was feeding on Blackberries. Some people have had good views of the bird and I saw it three times today, never perched and always for a split second as it flitted between a favourite bramble bush and a nearby tree. This is a species that does not breed here in the UK and is in decline in Western Europe but doing well in the east of it's range in Eastern Euroe and Asia. Here is a tantalising photograph of the Brambles where the bird was feeding.
Just before dusk from my Alphin Brook hide, a Little Egret got closer and closer before disturbed by a dog walker. I cant work out what fish it had caught, looks like a loach, but a big one.



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