Shy warbler's comeback gig

The hills have been alive with beautiful bird song of late as one of our shyest choristers enjoys a renaissance after years of decline.

- STUART WINTER

Listening to four male garden warblers staking territories on a scrubby chalk escarpment brought a smile to the face - and hope in the heart for the future of this unassuming summer visitor.

Only twice in three decades have I heard garden warblers deliver exquisite arias on my local patch high in the Chilterns.

Over several still mornings through May, a quartet performed adversarial sing-offs dawn to dusk, filling the air with hours of incessant but delightfully musical refrains that nature writers have long struggled to describe in words.