Thursday 27 November 2014

Black Redstart Again


The view from Exmouth Quay tis evening. A rare glimpse of the sun on another grey November day.
 
I was keen to have another look at the immature male black redstart in the Docks area this evening. It was feeding along rooftops behind the sailing club until almost dark, loosely associating with a robin and a pied wagtail. The brown juvenile wings confirm that it is a young bird and there seems to be a hint of paler tips to the greater coverts. Nothing else about the plumage suggests that it is anything other than a bog-standard black redstart, though I can't remember seeing too many looking like this. It's a pretty good match for the illustration of an advanced first-summer male in the Collin's guide.
 


Immature male Black Redstart.
 


The back of Camperdown Terrace.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Matt, see this for some interesting stuff about 1w male Black Reds... http://birdingfrontiers.com/2014/03/17/red-bellied-black-redstarts-in-2014/

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  2. Hi Steve - thanks for that. I did read that article a while back but needed a re-read. Interesting to see the 'paradoxus' term used for such males. I was keen to see if this male had any orange on the belly but there is no more than a light orange tinge in certain lights. I had another look at it this evening in really low light - it was still showing behind the sailing club - smart bird. Cheers, Matt.

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