Juvenile Black Redstart
Old Workings pool
Wheatear
A very interesting morning at the pits after a slow start. The star bird was a juvenile Black / Common Redstart that was picked up close to Marsh Farm. The bird proved very difficult to assess but apparently a small percentage of Black Redstarts show small patches of orange on the breast which could indicate past inter breeding or just aberrant plumage. Common redstarts lose their brown plumage shortly after fledging (usually July) and you can notice it is smudgy or blotchy rather than spotted. The throat and sides of face are definitely grey. Our thoughts was the bird was a pale juvenile Black Redstart with slightly abnormal plumage. We also saw the bird run on the ground and Commons only apparently hop (however futher research indicated this is not the case).
Other sightings included 47 Little Grebe, 23 Cormorant, 1 Grey Heron, 11 Mute Swan, 300 Greylag, 40 Canada Goose, 6 Gadwall, 28 Teal, only 160 Mallard, 45 Tufted Duck, 1 Red Kite, 12 Buzzard, 1 Kestrel, 125 Coot, 1 Ringed Plover, 1 Snipe, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Common Sandpiper, 500 BHG, 60 LBBG, 2 Herring Gull, 80 Stock Doves, 3 Green Woodpecker, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 35 Skylark, 3 Swift, 180 House Martin, 20 Sand Martin, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Whinchat, 2 Wheatear, 1 Sedge Warbler, 5 Reed Warbler, 9 Lesser Whitethroat, 6 Common Whitethroat, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Treecreeper, 3 Jay, 200 Rook, 1 Raven & 70 Goldfinch.
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