Sensing a new start for marsh warbler
SMELL is the one sense naturalists rarely call upon to savour birds in their myriad colours and forms. Sharp eyes and acute hearing are obviously indispensable tools for appreciating creatures evolved to flourish in a world of sight and sound.
Brilliant plumages to attract mates in courtship ceremonies and the ingenious camouflage patterns for confounding predators delight observers and give insight into the lives of these fascinating creatures. Nature’s most sophisticated voiceboxes create mesmeric songs beyond the wit of our greatest musicians.
Like most birds, humans have nature’s least developed olfactory senses, yet smell does have its part to play in relishing wonderful and timeless encounters.
It was French novelist Marcel Proust who first described what has become known as “madeleine moments” – distant memories that come rushing back by experiencing something in the present.
For Proust, it was the madeleine biscuits of childhood. My trigger is the aroma of summer herbage wafting over streams to bring back never-to-be-forgotten encounters with marsh warblers.the marsh warbler is a birdwatcher’s bird, an archetypal “little brown job” that is difficult to identify – telling them apart from the closely related reed warbler is near impossible – as well as being notoriously furtive.
This is until it pours forth fantastic bursts of distinctive song, beautiful symphonies crafted by stealing the notes of many species on migratory travels from Europe to Africa.
Blend the sounds of birdsong with the heady fragrance of damp meadows and lifelong memories are distilled for instant recall whenever the scent floats on the breeze. Such rekindled memories of marsh warblers was my contribution to the encyclopaedic Birds Britannica, described in the following passage: “I recently heard a super marsh warbler which included mimicry of blackbird, goldfinch and even a common tern in the performance. The sound was almost fragrant.the bird’s syrupy refrains seemed to turn into perfume as they floated across a lush mat of scented meadowsweet, comfrey and cow parsley recently infused by a summer downpour.”
This spring with its easterly airflows has witnessed a remarkable influx of marsh warblers, a species that has been teetering on the brink of extinction as a British breeding bird for five decades, with a population estimated at a mere eight pairs. So far, June has seen more than 30 birds. Finding marsh warblers is a challenge and I doff my cap to Bedfordshire birder Steve Blain whose detective work resulted in the discovery of the county’s first record for more than 100 years.
Steve scoured the rivers and streams that flow around Sandy in Bedfordshire, the town that plays host to the headquarters of the RSPB.WITH ears pitched for the warbler’s distinctive repertoire,
Steve finally struck lucky along a meandering stretch of the River Ivel.
Over the past week the bird has entertained a steady flow of birders with its arias that included bursts of blue tit, blackbird and golden oriole plus notes stolen from birds on its East African wintering grounds.
There was no way I could resist the temptation to have my own communion with this remarkable, if nondescript, bird, and breathe in the intoxicating atmosphere...
‘More than 30 birds this June’