ONE of Britain's rarest birds, the willow tit, thought to be extinct on Dartmoor, has been discovered in the valleys around Widecombe, Sticklepath and Manaton.

Volunteer surveys have discovered nine birds on seven areas of wet woodland, including a family of four, proving that they are breeding on Dartmoor.

'It's good news. We thought that they had become extinct on Dartmoor. However, we didn't find very many,' said Naomi Barker an ecologist with Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA).

Now Naomi is drawing up an action plan to try to bolster numbers, which will involve DNPA working with Natural England and individual farmers.

Willow tits are on the national red danger list.

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