News of a Dartford Warbler at Strensall Common on 7th July was a big surprise, but not entirely unexpected, given the hot weather and this species' spread north through the UK. Local birders had predicted the arrival of this tiny heathland specialist, but I -at least - am far too lazy to spend too much time traipsing around the large York heaths, particularly Strensall Common, on the off chance of finding one. Thankfully, a sharp-eyed/eared local botanist, Gill Smith, found this one whilst checking out some plants on the heath.
To our delight it was still present the next morning, and a small local twitch happened that evening (after access reopened to the live firing area!), to pay homage to the bird. After an hour without any joy, I heard the bird sing in the distance, so me and Mark P headed round the heath, located the Stonechat family it has been hanging with, and shortly got great views of this Rioja and slate beaut as he bounced around among the birch and pine scrub. As is sometimes a thing with Dartford Warblers, he closely associated with the Stonechats, often sitting with the youngsters out in the open.
With shadows lengthening, we left this first for the York area in peace and headed home. DW is still super rare in Yorkshire, so this really was a mega local find, and at the time of writing, almost a month later, the bird is still there.
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