Grasshopper Warbler

Having just finished parents' evening I decided to pop along to Wilstone reservoir near Tring on the way home as, for once, it was not raining. Parking up, it was the smell that first hit me - a lovely, heavy scent of hawthorn blossom. Following the track towards the reservoir I became aware of a faint reeling reminiscent of a coasting bicycle and there, in full view at the top of a clump of cow parsley, was a grasshopper warbler, just like the one in the video. You can stand for hours trying to catch a glimpse of this scarce, skulking species, so I stood and took in its strange song for as long as I could.