Common Redstart

Above: Male
Below: Female.

The common redstart visits the UK every year in the summer to breed. They start arriving in April and start leaving again in September, with a few possibly lingering until October. They are beautiful birds, especially the males, and thankfully like to show off by perching openly. They prefer mature woodland with tall trees, with very little undergrowth and a few clearings. They favour the lower branches of trees from where it watches for insects on the ground and pounces when it spots one.

They are easy to identify, especially the handsome male. He has a blue-grey back, nape and crown, a red rump and tail. A red breast and belly, a deeper red on the breast and a paler red on the belly that fades to a creamy buff white at the vent. The males face and throat are jet black and he has a narrow patch of bright white between his black face and his grey crown. The beak and legs are black.

The female has a grey/brown back, nape and crown. She also has the red rump and tail. However, her breast and belly are more creamy buff with just a hint of a red wash particularly on the flanks. Although she and her young can at times appear washed with red almost all over. She has a grey brown head and buff white throat with no black at all on her head or face. She is non-the-less an attractive bird, with a prominent, pale ringed, black eye.

In the north west there are a number of places you can try to see and photograph these birds. In Derbyshire the woodland around Errwood Reservoir and Padley Gorge are good places to see these birds. In North Wales try Ynis Hir, Gwynedd or Llangollen or the broad leaved areas of Clocaennog in Clwyd. In Lancashire try the Forest of Bowland and in Staffordshire there's the woodland around Cannock Chase and of course the marvellous RSPB site a Coombes Valley. The latter being one of my favourite places as it's always very quiet and great for pied flycatcher as well as redstart. Sadly the single hide, that was so good for close viewing of both these species, has been removed and replaced with a truly appalling small bench!!!  However it's still a good place to see these birds. Watch the TV aerial on the chimney of Clough Meadow cottage. A male redstart uses this as a singing post most years that I've been.

Having visited Errwood for the first time in June 2008, I have to say I'm impressed. It's a great place for seeing birds and in June the redstarts are easy to see and occasionally easy to photograph, especially near their nest site or if they have fledged youngsters to feed..