I have just been browsing through my photographs and realised I have seen 13 species of warbler on my patch,eleven of which have also been seen in my garden .

Most of them are seen on migration but some do arrive for the winter.                                 

Blackcap                                                              Chiffchaff

The Blackcaps arrive around the third week of October, usually around twenty -four in number staying right through until March feeding on the berries on

 my Lantana bush and then the berries on the Pyracantha and Ivy.

The Chiffchaffs also arrive for the winter.I usually get around five or six ,cleaning -up all the insects on my fruit trees and cacti.

One of their favourites is a huge shrub which develops massive cream bell -flowers,the reason for this is because the Grey -Dagger moth lays its eggs in large numbers on the leaves of this shrub and the caterpillars devour the leaves .

That's until the Chiffchaff and the Sardinian warblers start patrolling the garden

 on a very regular basis.They must eat hundreds of these caterpillars. 

  Lesser Whitethroat                                                        Marsh Warbler 

The least -common garden visitors are the Lesser Whitethroat and the Marsh warbler.Tese are usually seen feeding on insects in the olive tree during migration.

 Olivaceous warbler                                                   Reed warbler 

These two warblers also pass through on migration both in April and September ,which is unusual ,as most of my migrating visitors  usually pass through either in April or September, but not both ,as most birds have one migration -route going North and different one going South. 

  Sardinian warbler                                            Subalpine warbler 

These have to be two of my favourites of all warblers.They are very colourful usually quite tame as a lot of these birds do not come in contact with many humans on their travels .As you can see they really do like feeding on the insects on the Buddleia and the berries on the Lantana bush. 

  Whitethroat                                                           Willow warbler

Probably the two most common of the warblers that visit my garden going South in September are the Willow warbler.The bird  in the photograph had flown into our lounge -window only 10 minutes before.It was shocked but unharmed.I have now put wind -chimes in front of the window and have had no accidents since.So I think it works quite well.

But definitely the "piece de resistance" this year was the arrival of a nice -looking Great reed warbler,which must have been blown off -course on migration ,because he just should 'nt have been here at all.It usually flies much farther east of here. 

 Great reed warbler                                               Garden warbler 

So there you go, eleven warblers out of the thirteen I have seen on my patch also visit my garden.I consider myself very fortunate .The other two warblers I have seen are the Garden warbler and the Fan -tailed warbler which actually breed on the marsh, on my patch. 

 Fan tailed warbler 

I apologise for the Reed Warbler -shot must try harder next time!

UPDATE APRIL 22nd 2012

I have just returned from the marsh where I caught sight of my 14th warbler,the Sedge warbler and a lifer for me.

This is a very difficult bird to photograph as it keeps moving every few seconds,hence the "not very good" photographs