Rare Spring Greenish Warbler! bonus Icterine from my window today.

Greenish Warbler

through my salty window

I was on the phone looking out my window while talking to a birder friend who had just seen the White-Throated Robin. (gripping me off) He was saying it should of been in my garden not Hartlepool? You can't have everything... Still on the phone... I then saw a warbler on the wire and I yelled to my son to get my bins! but it was to late. I said I was trying to make wing bars on that warbler out there? (but it's the wrong time of the year for that...) When I got of the phone I relocated the bird OMG! it did seem to have a slight wing bar... As I was looking at it a big yellow Icterine Warbler popped up and chased it around. Now these "Warblers" make me nervous because ones like this I can never be total sure or get the greatest photo. So I called the Obs twice! before I got Susanna, I told her that I had a Icterine Warbler and a Chiffchaff Willow Warblerish bird with a hint of a wing bar? Asst. Warden Jason shows up and the birds are not in my front garden anymore, so I show him my photos and we consult my open Colins Bird Guide. We soon relocate the bird in the back garden but it is flush back to the front. There Jason scrutinizes and confirms it's a Greenish Warbler even though he has never seen one before. (Lifer for Jason) We watched it search the garden for insects and it even landed on my "Tree" and the stick just outside my window. The Icterine Warbler is relocated when we follow the greenish Warbler to the bushes in front of Skerry Holm. A few van loads of birders later... everyone who wanted to see the birds was given splendid views. Plus Jason and I were happy to have additional confirmation from the other wardens, visitors, etc. This bird changed it's look drastically with a flick of it's tail... very disconcerting to a amateur bird enthusiast like me, sometime grey with the faintest wing bar or to quite yellow/green with a stronger wing bar depending on the light and it's pose. A spring sighting of a Greenish Warbler is not that common I was told it was about the 30th known British spring record? This is my 3rd or 4th Greenish Warbler I've seen on Fair Isle but hast to be my favorite as it ticked all the right boxes.

Garden Tick - Tree Tick - Self Found Tick