A TASTE OF SPRING

Spring migrants and our resident birds were everywhere over the weekend at the farm some carrying nesting material some frantically feeding up some feeding chicks and some singing and calling. With the weather being so absolutely beautiful it was a real taste of Spring and a real feeling of pleasure to be out and about.

I had a great day's birding where the list of migrants were :- 
Willow Warbler, Wheatear, Redstart, Tree Pipit and both male and female Cuckoo.

BLACK NOT RED

black redstart

female common redstart

This time of year us birders eagerly await the arrival of our Spring migrants.
So when I got home from work on Monday last week I thought that I had spotted my first Redstart of the spring, bright red tail drab in appearance yes I thought a female. I grabbed my camera and took a few snaps then put my pic's on a Facebook site called Gwent Birders, it's a local site for people that are interested in Birds and wildlife where they can post pictures and share information. Within 10 minutes of posting the picture I was inundated with comments saying that it was in fact a Black Redstart a first summer male and a passage migrant. I quickly grabbed my Helm ID guide which confirmed that my fellow birders were right. It stayed for a couple more days before moving on but what a pleasant surprise the first I've seen up here and goes to show don't presume that what your looking at is what you think it is. I think I need to brush up on my ID skills.

Some more pic's of this surprising little passage migrant

My regular spring visitors the common Redstarts should be turning up anytime soon lets hope that they are as obliging as this little chap was.