"The Birds of Berkshire" has phylloscopus sibilatrix as a scarce summer visitor but there have been few breeding records since the book's publication in '96.  Nowadays you'd be lucky even to hear about a passage bird on www.Berksbirds.co.uk and few birders will have added this phyllosc to their Berkshire list in recent years.
In the 1960s there were typically three breeding pairs with up to six singing males reported annually across the county. The 70s brought a steep decline and there have rarely been more than one confirmed breeding pair since then. The reason for the failure of this bird in the county is not known. It has, however, also suffered a moderate decline in the UK. There are still many sites in the county which have the mature broadleaved woodland with a sparse understorey favoured by the species.
2007 has been a good year with a twitchable at Englemere pond and this showy May/June male at Snelsmore (there were only two records in the latest county report and none at all in the 2002 report)
This bird was first seen [and suppressed] in mid-May. It then went silent until it was found again at the same place and "put out" on June 16th; it showed well for a few days after which it was netted/ringed and wasn't seen or heard of again - to the annoyance of some!
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