Welcome to our South East Christmas Countdown no.5.
Did you guess that cutting down pine trees actually helps the Dartford warbler? There’s a clue at the bottom to tomorrow’s story. If you missed no.6 in the Countdown, you can read it here.
Christmas is a time of celebration! In our countdown to Christmas, we would like to share with you some of this year’s success stories, about some of our most threatened birds in the South East. In September, the State of Nature 2016 report was published. It highlights the alarming decline of many UK species, but it also showed that we can turn the fortunes of our wildlife around, given determination, resources, public support and conservation action.
About Dartford warblers
Named after Dartford Heath in northwest Kent (where sadly the population became extinct in the early 20th century), Dartford warblers are sometimes given the nickname “furze wren” in Surrey, as they often perch on top of heather or gorse.
Classified globally as “Near Threatened” in 2012, the UK population peaked at 3,214 territories in 2006 but crashed again by 2010, following several harsh winters. This is despite there being enough heathland in the UK to support double the number of Dartford warblers that were present in 2006.
Dartford warblers depend on healthy gorse providing shelter to help them survive harsh winters. In the South East, wardens have been managing gorse on our heathland reserves to improve its suitability for these small yet vocal birds. Since 2004, we have been converting the conifer plantations at RSPB Farnham Heath in Surrey into heath and acid grassland, with the help of volunteer work parties. Our annual “Pull a Pine” event, where visitors can cut down and take home a Christmas tree, helps us to restore even more heathland!
Good news from 2016
This year, for the first time in living memory, we were rewarded with Dartford warblers breeding on our RSPB Farnham Heath site, and it wasn’t just one breeding pair; there were three!
Dartford warblers also returned to RSPB Hazeley Heath in Hampshire this summer, for the first time since the population crash of 2010, with six breeding pairs spotted on the reserve. The UK’s global importance for Dartford warblers is likely to increase as climate change increases their range northwards, but reduces it in mainland Europe.
Our work wouldn’t be possible without your continued support, through membership, volunteering and even your Christmas purchases in our shops. On behalf of our teams and all the wildlife you have helped us to save, thank you, and have a great Christmas!
Our story for September
We’ll celebrate another story tomorrow, so keep an eye out for it, but in the meantime here’s a clue to keep you guessing…
Which of our conservation priority species ‘sneezes’, although it doesn’t have a cold?