DARTFORD WARBLER - AT LAST

Great excitement from the pager late on Sunday with the news of the first Dartford warbler to be seen on the Island. Don't know who reported it but it sounded genuine, reported in the shrubby sea-blite bushes at the East Mersea Point. Monday morning met up with Michael Thorley and we waited and scanned the thick bushes with keen eyes.

After a few minutes of straining ears beside some bushes at the far eastern end, the very soft and barely audible sound of a scratchy and fast Dartford warbler song could just be made out. It was very close but in typical Dartford fashion it stayed low and skulking. Luckily it called regularly and for several minutes it could be traced from bush to bush but never stopping long enough to see it through the bins.

It disappeared for half an hour and dunnocks and reed buntings occasionally confused matters by flying between bushes. The scolding calls of the warbler started up again and the bird was seen perching briefly up to finally provide a front-on view with its raised head feathers, red-eye, white flecked throat and the dark red chest. It quickly dropped back into the bush. A pair of stonechats appeared and seemed to come over to check this new arrival onto their patch. The warbler was seen one more time as it looked down into a bush with its long tail pointing skywards. The bird was not seen again despite sevaral other birders looking during the day but the dull weather has not been good warbler weather.

The Dartford warbler has been talked about as being a potential visitor in this very area and we have been waiting patiently for one to turn up. The recent run of mild winters has helped the Dartford warblers to spread rapidly into East Anglia and there is a thriving population on the Suffolk coastal heaths now.Let's hope this bird stays around here.

Nick Green and Glyn Evans doing the winter wildfowl and wader count round Mersea had an unsuccessful look for the warbler but they did locate a great northern diver offshore and a slavonian grebe flying into the Colne. There was also a red-throated diver seen offshore.