In the normal run of things I am generally less motivated by North American than Siberian-breeding vagrant birds. But such has been the enormity of events currently stirring the national twitching world that I couldn’t resist getting involved in the end. The past seven days have brought what is now described as the biggest ever arrival of storm-blown, Nearctic migrant passerines and other birds around the British Isles (see here). And amongst 50 individuals of 15 species, an eye-catching British 1st-2nd-3rd record wood warbler cluster made landfall around Pembrokeshire and its offshore islands.

I felt tempted over the weekend to venture beyond range, having completed paying for 2023’s five tripettes abroad and various larger domestic bills, but the usual reservations over cost, fatigue and wearing out my car prevailed. Then matters were helped greatly by a second Magnolia Warbler, one of the earlier items to start all this at 210 miles, being confirmed on Sunday afternoon in Port Talbot just a little beyond where I travelled for the Pacific Diver in December 2021 (see here). Like a fortnight ago I should have paid more attention going into this week, but my present working weekends are invariably succeeded by a distracting stack of chores.

So it was not until late Monday morning that I realised how accessible, at 140 miles and close by the M4 motorway, the bird was. This was eminently do-able and I at once decided to mount a dawn twitch if MAG2 was reported into the evening. Indeed it was and I set off from home at just after 4am on Tuesday feeling confident that my quest would still be present without waiting for first news. After all there is really nowhere for these surviving storm, or in this instance hurricane blown waifs to move on to, though some do of course expire after landfall. Today the weekend’s star south-west Wales arrivals were all still being reported in good health, albeit mostly in limited access offshore nature reserves or on an active MoD firing range.

The earlier Magnolia Warbler (pictured above) at St Govan’s Head in Pembrokeshire was just the third for Great Britain, and so attracted a sizeable audience (see here). The second was a one-day bird on Fair Isle in 2012, and the first on Scilly back in 1981, so this new mainland opportunity was huge. These are fairly common breeders in coniferous forests throughout Canada and the US North-eastern and Great Lakes regions, migrating through the eastern and central US to winter in Mexico, the rest of Central America and around the Caribbean. On migration they are said to favour low trees and shrubs along forest edges and in parks, always showing a preference for denser habitat.

Presumably Baglan Energy Park (SS 73892 92244) is somebody’s patch. Though marketed by the owners as a premier Welsh business and industrial location, much of it remains undeveloped. First impressions upon arrival at 7am were what suitable landfall habitat for migrant birds this brownfield site of a past petrochemical plant also offers. My next sentiment was that with less than 10 other early birders present things could be hard work. But I was armed with precise directions from Adam (see here), who had done this on Monday and I remained in contact with, as to MAG2’s likely movements. As re-visiting birders also joined the gathering that picture was confirmed, and so the Magnolia Warbler was called for the first time at around 08:15.

Numbers of birders then swelled, including Oxon colleagues Colin Oram and Alan Peters, especially after news went out on the bird information services; and so my always elusive quest became less difficult to relocate. I myself gained three good views by 09:20 before going for a breakfast break, then a fourth afterwards. Like all Warblers this mega rarity was always hyperactive, moving around constantly in and out of cover. It was associating with a Tit flock and stood out when seen by the bright yellow breast, grey head and grey-green upperparts. The first winter bird was foraging low in the dense understory of a long line of trees to which it remained faithful throughout.

The species (see here) has no connection with Magnolia trees other than owing its misnomer to having been found in one by the ornithologist who first described it in 1810. The dense, boreal breeding habitat is shared with other, similarly colourful wood warblers such as Bay-breasted (here), Canada (here) and Blackburnian (here); all of which have turned up nationally in the current trans-Atlantic fall. Although Magnolia commonly joins mixed-species flocks during migration and on wintering grounds, it is said to keep apart from others of its own kind and aggressively defend individual feeding territories.

Given the attention surrounding its St Govan’s predecessor, I wonder whether MAG2 was taken quite as seriously until today. After my own departure from site this bird was reported as showing well throughout the afternoon and offering splendid views, so it got very much on a par then, and over the two more days that it lingered. For me this outing was an opportunity to burn energy and cleanse the spirit such as a successful solo twitch provides, and it was good to hit the road again for only the fourth time in two years.

Some bird content at last! This was in conventional birding parlance a “blocker removed”, or in my own particular speak a fallen long-term straggler. By the idiosyncratic criteria by which I judge such things the much sought lifer of this post was until now one of a group of seven most likely British list additions within my preferred travel range. But converting Aquatic Warbler is not that simple.

How so? Formerly an expected item of any national autumn passage, the potential to experience Aquatic Warbler (see here) has shrunk in parallel with its more recent status as Europe’s rarest migratory and only globally threatened passerine. This medium-sized Acrocephalus winters only in Senegal and arrives on it’s European breeding grounds in April. Those are largely confined to Poland and Belarus that hold around 70% of breeders, and there is a fragment population in Lithuania. The global population is now no more than 21,000 pairs. The species reverted from BBRC scarcity to rarity description level in 2014, since when the annual handful of English records have almost all been trapped and ringed individuals that were not seen again upon release.

It is dependence on a rather specialised and vulnerable wetland breeding habitat, prone to loss through drainage that has caused AW’s decline. This bird favours open, wet marshland with scattered bushes or trees, and has a requirement for sedge fen mires with a water depth of 5-10 cm. Conversion of coastal marshes to nature reserves, with habitat restructuring that does not suit AW, is said to have similarly contributed to reduced British sightings in recent times. Return passage begins in June with movement of juveniles such as today’s bird, south-west along the English coast peaking in late August and early September. In contrast with recent years the last two weeks have produced two twitchable items in south-east England. The first, also a juvenile at Landguard NNR in Suffolk on 30th Aug, stuck around for less than four hours in the afternoon and early evening.

When the second bird was reported inland in Sussex, to the north of Shoreham and the village of Upper Beeding (BN44 3WN – TQ 190113) on Sunday (10th), I assumed it’s stay would be similarly brief. But I really should have checked RBA on Monday morning. Instead I kicked myself after remembering to do so in the early afternoon, and found this must-see was still present and had been viewed at intervals to 12:40pm. That carelessness showed how out of the twitching habit I had become this year, but probably also that I must have been doing too much wildlife stuff alone again recently. And so I sought company for this venture, if it could be rescued.

As things transpired I was not the only Oxon birder to have been a little slow off the mark. Regular colleagues Adam and Ewan both said they were planning to go for the Aquatic on Tuesday’s first news, so we agreed to rendezvous near M40 Oxford services. Our quest was reported twice more through the afternoon and early evening, then again at dusk. With that my gut feeling grew that this was THE lifetime opportunity to convert an almost mythical straggler, and I was quietly confident of success.

Setting off at around 08:40 on 12th, we were re-assured by further RBA, Bird Guides and WhatsApp alerts at intervals through our 110 mile journey; then arrived on-site around 11 am. The location was a sloping bank of the River Adur below a narrow footpath through long grass and sedge (pictured below), along which up to 30 birders were spread out at intervals. Adam called the Aquatic Warbler soon after we arrived and I too noticed the brief movement into deep cover he was referring to.

At that everyone present converged upon the spot and almost total silence ensued for around 20 minutes as the gathering waited for the renowned skulker to re-emerge. When it did I saw clearly a second movement, then a thrill coursed through me upon picking out the Aquatic’s distinctive head pattern as it crept about low down in the habitat. That was mission accomplished personally, and as the bird flew up and away again everybody saw it so all the tension evaporated from the situation. Such to-ings and fro-ings continued for the rest of the morning and I was pleased with the repeated views gained.

I had expected a typical warbler twitch of staring for long periods at dense vegetation waiting for the quest to come out. But this bird was quite mobile around its adopted patch, though always fast moving. The stand out features of Aquatic Warbler are a quite bright yellowish-buff toning and the very strong head pattern with a thick, pale supercilium and whitish crown-stripe. Both were readily apparent as our bird moved around today. A flattened forehead and strong, pointed bill also mark the species out, while the upper parts are more heavily streaked than the familiar Sedge Warbler. Juvenile AW do not display streaking on the breast.

After an hour of activity on the bird’s part it went to deep cover again and was not seen for a similar period of time. So all three of us being satisfied with our experience we decided to leave. Neither myself or Adam, for whom this rarity was also a lifer, could quite believe how easily we had added it to our career lists in the end. But this instance was testimony to something I have faith in that sooner or later these things will turn up within range. It is just a matter of waiting, in this case for many years and I now feel hugely relieved and content to have converted such a prime target today. Aquatic Warbler is my 380th British bird.