Dartford warblers

Dartford warbler

A perky character, the Dartford warbler is slate-grey above and deep wine-red below. Its long tail is often held cocked at a jaunty angle while it sings its scratchy, rambling song from a perch on the top of a gorse bush. As well as being the perfect singing platform, this tightly packed, spikey shrub provides a safe nesting place and hunting ground for a bird that specialises in picking spiders and caterpillars from their hiding places.

Where to see a Dartford warbler

Named after Dartford in Kent, near to which it was first noted as a breeding bird in 1773, the Dartford warbler is a bird of lowland heathland in the south east of England and south Wales. Look out for them at the locations listed below:

Berkshire, Greenham Common (see Dartford warblers singing in the heath around former nuclear bunkers)
Channel Islands, Alderney
Devon, Bovey Heathfield, Chudleigh Knighton Heath
Dorset, Higher Hyde Heath, Lytchett Bay, Tadnoll and Winfrith, Upton Heath
Norfolk, Roydon Common and Grimston Warren
Suffolk, Blaxhall Common
Surrey, Brentmoor Heath, Chobham Common, Wisley and Ockham Commons

What to look for

As well as listening out for the rattling song, pay attention to the other birds around you. Dartford warblers have a habit of following stonechats around, so if you see a stonechat, check out the bushes around and below it. You may find a Dartford warbler quietly picking off insects nearby. Unusually for a warbler, this is a resident bird, staying in the UK through the winter. This isn’t always such a good strategy, as many birds have died during the hard winters of recent years.

If you can't get to these places

Try looking out for a close relative of the Dartford warbler, the whitethroat which has a similar liking for gorse bushes, as well as hawthorn hedges and other spiny bushes: the whitethroat can be found throughout the country, so you shouldn’t have to go far to find one.