Climate change perks up the Dartford Warbler

LONDON (Reuters) - The Dartford Warbler, a bird species that almost disappeared in the severe cold of the early 1960s, is making a recovery thanks to climate change.

Named after the Kent town where it was first spotted, the warbler has gone from just over 10 pairs in Britain to over 1,500 now, according to a report.

"As it's an insect-feeding bird, it almost died out in the severe winter of 1962-1963," said a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Globally, however, the outlook for the Dartford warbler is less promising and its threat level has been upgraded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

"Climate change has saved the Dartford Warbler in Britain, but its population in Spain has been badly affected," added the RSPB spokesman. "It's a bird of global conservation and it's one we have increasing responsibility for."

While the Dartford Warbler as well as the Cirl Bunting are becoming more common in the UK, other species like the Fieldfare and Redwing are on the wane, feeling the heat of Britain's warmer climate.

"The results are what we expected to find, given the changes in climate over the last 20 years," said professor Brian Huntley from Durham University, which together with Cambridge University and the RSPB looked at 25-year population trends of 42 species for the report.

"Because the UK is in the middle latitudes of Europe, we expected that recent climatic warming would favor species with ranges located in the south of Europe and adversely affect northern species."

The RSPB spokesman said other factors had contributed to the changes. "We've managed habitats by working with farmers and government agencies to make sure birds like the Cirl Bunting have the right environment and that's why it's flourishing," he said.

(Reporting by John Joseph; Editing by Steve Addison)