More than half a century after the Dartford warbler almost vanished from the English countryside, the charismatic heathland bird appears to be staging a comeback. A survey has revealed the highest number of Dartford warblers ever recorded on reserves run by the bird conservation charity RSPB , with 264 pairs counted in 2025, a 44% increase in five years. Dartford warblers are small birds that may be glimpsed perched on top of gorse singing a scratchy song, and are found on lowland heathland in southern England . They are grey-brown, with a distinctive red eye ring, russet breast and long tail. They are particularly sensitive to harsh winter weather and, as a ground-nesting species, rely on dense gorse in areas of mature heathland for food and shelter. The RSPB has been restoring heathland on nature reserves. Photograph: Ben Hall/RSPB Images In the 1960s their population crashed, leaving only a few pairs in Dorset and the species on the brink of extinction in England.…