Whitethroat, Berry Head, Brixham, Devon

Three weeks ago at Berry Head, I took a nice photo of an adult Whitethroat catching insects and appearing to take them back to a nest to feed youngsters.  So it was a treat to see an adult feeding a youngster in the same spot today.

This is another bird whose breeding numbers have dropped substantially in the UK in recent years.

Juvenile Chiff Chaff

Every time I think things are going quiet and there will be nothing to photograph, something catches me by surprise again.

With the mating season over, the male birds have stopped singing from their perches. Then the parents started actively and frantically feeding their young broods and you could hear the youngsters calling from their nests for food.  Then it all went quiet.

But just because it's quiet doesn't mean they're not there. They just don't have anything much to shout about.  But if you listen very, very carefully you will hear the fledged young calling to their siblings as they start to explore their wider surroundings learning to feed themselves.  Occasionally you see the parents pop back to top up the youngsters' feed.  Many parents, who have often gone without much food themselves whilst using up a lot of energy feeding their young, may now have to prioritise feeding themselves ready for the long Autumn migration.

This week I've seen so many gorgeous newly fledged birds.  This young Chiff Chaff was delightful, flitting around this grand iron gate on Exminster Marsh in Devon.

Reed Warbler, Exminster Marshes, Devon

Yesterday I wrote about my fascinating encounter with a pair of young Sedge Warblers and I made mention of the Reed Warblers.

Today I set about getting photos of young Reed Warblers, which isn't too difficult on Exminster Marshes.  The Reed Warblers seem to have had a good year as I've often seen them whilst out on my regular walks on the marshes.

This one appeared from the reeds alongside the canal path and asked me to take a photo as he was proud of his catch! 

Sedge Warbler, Exminster Marsh, Devon

Spring and early Summer for me means the croaky repetitive notes of the Reed and Sedge Warblers singing from the reed beds and adjoining hedgerows on Exminster Marshes. When I first heard them I struggled to tell the difference, but after two summers of living alongside the marshes, I now know which one I'm listening to.

In July the singing has disappeared and is replaced with the tiny frog like croak of the newly fledged Sedge Warblers seeking out caterpillars and bugs in the tangled growth at the bottom of the drying ditches; and the lighter chattering of the young Reed Warblers catching flies and bugs higher up the reeds with their parents guiding them.

Today I was stopped in my tracks by a very confiding young Sedge Warbler who decided I was intruding on his and his sibling's territory.  I needed to be checked out, then told off! Not satisfied with shouting at me from the reeds, he took to a nearby post and continued the ticking off.  

After a few moments of kicking off, he decided not to bother with me any more and disappeared back into the tangled mass of grasses and brackish water in the bottom of the ditch.  He called to his sibling who had remained out of sight and undercover.  Her quieter croak was only just audible as she called back (I am assuming their sexes from their behaviour!)  

Eventually these little Sedge Warblers both got used to me, ignored my presence and carried on feasting themselves on the endless supply of caterpillars they seemed to have discovered in these ditches.  

Every now and then, they would reappear as if to show off their catches and let me take a few photos, before going under again.