Western Orphean Warbler - Sylvia hortensis
On Wednesday 29 October 2003 Pim Wolf (famed for his discovery of the Audouin's Gull on 1 May this year) had to work in the office in Middelburg, to great relief for the people in other parts of the country. Hopefully it would be a quiet day for them. But no, around 14:00 hours from his office window he saw a Sylvia warbler, too big to be a Lesser Whitehroat. It was an Orphean Warbler Sylvia hortensis, the first for the Neterlands... Immediately he warned some of his colleagues (all famous birders: Peter Meininger, Sander Lilipaly and Mark Hoekstein) and they all confirmed it was an Orphean Warbler. They warned other birders, but around 16:30 hours the bird disappeared (most probably went to sleep). Next days the bird showed itself well to every visiting birder (including me on 30 October). At first it was believed to be an adult of the western form hortensis, because of its greyish-white eye and buffish underparts, but the eastern form crassirostris has not been ruled out entirely. If it is a first-winter after all, it could be either a western or an eastern. If I had to bet, I would put my money on a male, not first-winter and of the Western form hortensis. It stayed till at least 5 November, but was not found on Sunday 2 November (a gloomy rainy day) .
30 October 2003, Middelburg Zld; © MvD.
30 October 2003, Middelburg Zld; © MvD.
30 October 2003, Middelburg Zld; © Bas van den Boogaard.
Finally - in 2007 - the bird was accepted as the first record for the Netherlands. Although breeding in France, this is a very rare bird in the northwest of Europe, with - for example - only six records in Britain, the last in 1983 (cf Rare Birds in Britain & Ireland, N Dymond 1989), two records in Germany, the last in 1964 (cf Die Vögel Helgolands, G Vauk & P Parey, 1972), and two records in Belgium, in 1912 and 1915.
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