Birders and wildlife photographers have been treated to sightings of a bird rarely seen in Hertfordshire – the Dartford Warbler.

The bird, which has come back from the brink of extinction in the 1960s, is a UK resident but is usually found in the South and South West of the country. Within the last fortnight, an unusual first sighting of the bird in Hertfordshire was reported close to the village of Tewin, in the Mimram Valley, and a second bird at Gorhambury, near St Albans

In both cases, the birds have been spotted in hedgerow and scrubby habitat, where nature has been allowed to flourish. Scrub is often described as a ‘successional habitat’, meaning that it is temporary and in transition between one habitat such as farmland and woodland. It can be a few scattered hawthorn bushes, a patch of nettles and bramble, a dense thicket next to a woodland or some young birch trees and gorse bushes growing on heathland. Depending on its features it will attract different wildlife but in all cases scrub provides shelter for breeding and nesting, a place for wildlife to feed on seeds and berries, an important wildlife corridor to support wild creatures as they travel, and it can also support pollinating insects. 

Tim Hill, Conservation Manager at Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust says,

“Scrub is a much-maligned habitat but is of high value to nature. Accordingly, it has been recognised as a priority within the Hertfordshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy, notably as a habitat which is essential if we are to bring back the now extinct Nightingale. Working across the River Mimram catchment, Heidi Mansell, the Trust’s Chalk Rivers and Farm Advisory Officer is providing advice to farmers and landholders to help them contribute further to nature’s recovery. Hedgerows and scrub are a key part of the landscape, providing valuable habitat to resident species such as Yellowhammers and Harvest Mice as well as rarer visitors such as the Dartford Warbler. Working to maximise diversity of habitats in our landscapes means that nature has a better chance of coping with the effects of climate change.”

Dartford Warblers are long-tailed birds, with a grey-brown head, body and wings, a distinctive red eye-ring and a russet breast. The British Trust for Ornithology report that there are 2,200 breeding pairs in the UK (2017). They are most regularly found in heathland and scrubby habitats.

To find out more about the conservation work of Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust to protect local habitats for wildlife and people, read our other news stories here.

If you are a landholder and would like advice on how to manage your land to contribute to nature’s recovery, please contact info@hmwt.org