Birding beginnings: True blue

A TBH first!

Avian anomalies

It’s not unheard of to find birds with strange colouration. One winter I saw a blackbird with white wing feathers. In that case it was partial albinism, a condition that makes a bird vulnerable to predators, or even to being picked on by other birds! But when you see an aberration like this, it’s really exciting!

You have to see to believe

If you’ve been following my weekly musings on bird identification, you’ll know I’ve sometimes fallen foul of my own expectations. Something I hoped was really special, turned out to be run of the mill! So last week I was very cautious when I saw a flash of blue in the heather! Luckily it was at one of the mini-pitstops that Warden Jamie and I have been running, and we had the telescope and camera to hand. This time my eyes weren’t deceiving me. A blue Dartford warbler!

I can’t explain it, it’s something you have to see to believe! But I hope this blue-hued Dartford warbler goes on to find a mate and to pass on its unusual colour to the next generation. Who knows, in future years we may even see a small population of blue Dartfords on the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area!

Warden Nick

P.S. Update: The blue Dartford warbler hasn’t been spotted since 1st April 2019!

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