High-pitched calls shout from the bushes along the banks of an oxbow of the Havel River a little river in northern Brandenburg in Germany. In the willows you can quickly spot Goldcrests (Regulus regulus), scurrying through the bushes inconspicuously but in large numbers. But it’s worth taking a closer look. And really, in this case the mixed flock contained a small representative of the Phylloscopus-warblers. One of these is the Yellow-browed Warbler or Inornate Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus). For only have a minute the bird showed its distinct superciliary stripe, 2 wingbars. Its call was not exactly identifiable, but sounded quite similar to a Coal Tit (Periparus ater).
The Yellow-browed Warbler is a typical small warbler with a fine, pointed bill and a relatively short tail. Depending on how it positions itself, it appears no more delicate than the native Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita), although its body length is eight millimeters shorter.
Yellow-browed Warblers, like the Pallas’s Leaf-Warblers (Phylloscopus proregulus) that migrate later in the year, come from the taiga forests between Sakhalin Island in the Sea of Okhotsk, Pechora and the Urals. The species has been an annual autumn visitor to Europe for about 30 years, although the main wintering areas are actually in the subtropics and tropics of Asia. The reasons for the appearance of hundreds of Yellow-browed Warblers in Europe every year have not yet been finally clarified. A possible cause is, among other things, a genetically fixed, persistent misorientation of the birds. The collaboration of bird lovers, ringers, ornithologists and scientists is needed to learn more about the origin and whereabouts of these birds by accurately determining the age of captured Yellow-browed Warblers, using geolocators or carrying out isotope analyses.
On their way across Europe, many Yellow-browed Warblers fly over Germany every year. Most detections occur between mid-September and mid-October, mostly in coastal regions. This year the first ones were reported from Heligoland on September 14th. The maximum is usually reached at the beginning of October.
Yellow-browed Warblers can actually appear anywhere while migrating. There seems to be a certain preference for water. But they can also appear on the edge of the forest, in city parks or even in your own garden. Above all, you should familiarize yourself with the characteristic and frequently heard call that the birds use to draw attention to themselves. In appearance, this Phylloscopus warbler resembles a bird from the Regulus-genus (most likely a summer Firecrest (Regulus ignicapilla). However, they differ in color, among other things, in the yellow eye stripe that gives it their name.
Then it’s time to open your eyes and ears, because now is the best opportunity to spot Yellow-browed Warblers on their migration. bird-lens.com wishes you good luck in your search for the Siberian yellow-browed warblers
To meet the growing demand for top-of-the-line images of the rarer Palaearctic species, Bird-lens.com strives to expand the range of images of Western Palaearctic birds. Trips to many locations to take pictures of rare western Palearctic birds have been very successful. This nice picture of the blog is just a first impression of what you can find in the gallery of the “Picture Shop” very soon. Please leave a message if bird-lens.com can provide a picture.