Another First!

I get the feeling that it is going to be a good year for firsts. :-)  About two weeks ago I heard a bird call that I have never heard before.  It was coming from low down in some gorse that grew along the border of an area of scrubland.  The image that immediately came to my mind was of a warbler with a machine gun!   I didn't get to see the bird, and never heard the call again, until this lunchtime that is: I was walking along the lane heading homewards after my midday walk with the dogs.  Camera in hand, I was just pottering along, looking for insects, when suddenly I heard the call again.  I stood still and listened carefully.  It was coming from what was once an orchard, but has long since become an overgrown scrubby area, quite close to a farmhouse.  It was clear and distinct and the same image sprang to mind: I couldn't get beyond the machine gun. Finally this evening I had time to sit down and work my way through the bird songs on the RSPB site.  I started looking at warblers that I didn't know and when I came to this one: The Grasshopper Warbler -  http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/g/grasshopperwarbler/index.aspx I recognised it instantly.   Apparently it is a bird that has suffered massive declines.  Let us hope that perhaps it is now doing a little better and expanding its range.