A warbling wonder..

LET'S talk about another conservation success story.

- With Lily Woods

I know the doom and gloom of “this is declining, that is going extinct” is a little easier to handle when we know there are things out there that are doing well. The topic of today's ramble is a bird that to birders is an exceptionally exciting spot, but to non-birders is just another little brownish bird.

Say hello to the Dartford Warbler. As you might have guessed from the name, doesn't come from Dartford.

Wait, did you say it doesn't? That's right!

They haven't been there for a very long time. The bird has actually held the name since 1773, when a naturalist named them after the place the first pair he studied were shot. Dartford!

They are also known historically as “Furze wrens” in Surrey, and their Latin name translates roughly to bird with “wavy markings”.