Naturalist and TV presenter Mike Dilger remembers spending a bird breeding season 30 years ago surveying the Cetti's warbler. The Cetti's has a secretive nature, and like most birders Mike is more familiar with its explosive song rather than it's appearance, which has been described as ‘someone dropping a saxophone in a reed-bed’. Since Mike's foray into the world of conservation science in the mid-nineties the population of the Cetti's warbler has increased rapidly in the UK, most likely due to milder winters.

Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.

This programme features audio from Xeno-Canto recorded by Simon Elliott (Cetti's Warbler - XC792549).