On my way back I heard some unfamiliar warbling - and saw a female redstart sitting on top of a bracken spire flicking her red tail. Yes! A first for me. (But the warbling wouldn't have come from her.) Next I glanced what could have been a male stonechat sitting on top of another bracken spire, as stonechat do, but... it wasn't behaving like a stonechat; it was flicking around more and... with binoculars up I saw it was the male redstart - and what a handsome chap he was!
And, right on cue, he started singing again, then flew into the oak tree a few feet from me... he flitted around for some flies, landed in the tree again, flit some more, then back to the tree, to the ground, to the tree, through the tree and then away again. Finding them has really made my day.This redstart photo was taken by Richard Spencer who found the male weeks before I did!
3 comments:
oh beautiful! The redstart is a lovely bird, I've only seen them in Vienna!
I love redstarts. Good to have a photo - they seemed to me to be particularly difficult birds to catch on camera when I tried. A combination of quick movement and camouflage.
Do you get redstarts in South Wales?
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