A few days ago I heard on the local grapevine that a (or the) Black Redstart had been found on buildings by the poly tunnels in the Studley Castle area. One had been seen there last winter, and my one attempt to see it had been a failure, so this morning after a text prompt from John (two days ago...I sometimes forget to check my phone for days on end) I thought I'd give it a go.
Initially it looked like it would be the same old story, so I started to wander. Specifically I headed towards Studley Castle, which is now a hotel in the Warner Group, and walked along the footpath past it. This was unproductive, but as I was returning to my car I scanned the central turret and spotted this.
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| A dot on a pole |
Promising I thought, so I strolled up the drive and chatted affably to the security guard. Further views convinced me I was looking at a silhouetted
Black Redstart, so I got permission to walk around the back from where I found the light was great but loss of elevation meant I couldn't see the bird.
I was heading back down the drive when I looked at another turret.
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| A dot on a turret |
Promising I thought...again. This time I zoomed in and sure enough it was a female type Black Redstart.
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| Black Redstart |
Other birds seen during the visit included a fly-over Yellowhammer, 47 Redwings, and a Fieldfare.
This site is even closer to my home than Morton Bagot. I wish twitching was always this easy.
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