Dunc rang me this morning with the news that a wood warbler was singing in a tree along Deacon's Lane, next to the Paradise sports ground. It was easy to locate where the bird was when i arrived ten minutes later, as with yesterday's lesser whitethroat, it's rattling song could be heard from the dense canopy. After a few minutes of wondering how I was going to get a view of this misplaced songster, lost as it was amongst the verdant growth, the bird suddenly flew to a young tree just coming into leaf. the warbler's greenish-yellow throat mirrored the new leaf shoots, giving the impression that part of the tree had become animate in order to rid itself of the myriad of tiny insects that must fill every crack and crevice. It poked at every bud and became so possessive of its tree that when a goldfinch landed nearby, it sprang forth and chased the finch off in a flurry of green and gold.
