Great reed warbler
Images copyright by Mark A. Chappell



Great reed warblers, as their name implies, are large (for warblers) and live in dense reedbeds in swamps and marshes.   They are birds with big 'personalities': loud, vigorous, and continuous singers, aggressive in defending their territories, often showing little fear of people.   These spring migrants were photographed in Bialowieza in northeastern Poland.

  • Digital captures, Canon 1D3, 800 mm IS + 1.4X converter, fill-in flash (2009)