Sussex birders spot yellow browed warbler in Warnham

Photographers and birders have seen yellow-browed warblers at Warnham Nature Reserve near Horsham in recent days.

These leaf warblers are songbirds normally resident in Siberian forests and tend to spend winter in South East Asia. 

Yellow-browed warblers being handled by Parks and Countryside staff at Warnham Nature Reserve (Image: Joshua Whymark)

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) said the bird has long been known as a scarce autumn visitor to the UK.

Numbers peak in October, but small numbers are increasingly found into the winter and even occasionally in spring.

READ MORE: Rare bird from Asia spotted in Sussex

"This attractive bird is a firm favourite with UK birders," the BTO said. 

Small numbers of yellow-browed warblers, most likely from the western end of the breeding range, regularly spend winter in western Europe. They arrive in Britain in late September and October after a 3,000–3,500 km migration from the Urals, a mountain range in Russia and Kazakhstan.

Kingfishers will leave Warnham Nature Reserve over winter (Image: Joshua Whymark)

These yellow-browed warblers were trapped by net by Parks and Countryside staff to be surveyed. People who assess birds in this way require a special government-issued licence. 

Joshua Whymark said: "Autumn is in full swing and kingfishers are leaving the South of England for the winter.  

"Also, yellow browed warblers seen - these are rare birds with only a few each year in Sussex."

Kingfishers tend to move from their breeding sites, like Warnham, for the winter.