Redstart at Holland Haven

21st August 2023

We had gone to Holland Haven in the hope of finding some autumn migrants along the sea wall but no sooner than we had stepped out of the car we were informed by a local birder that a Redstart was showing well by The Dell so off we went. We spent about an hour there and eventual got a couple of glimpses of it, but it was very flighty so we went off to the sea wall and came back later.

On our second attempt it was very active keeping mainly to its favourite perch amongst the Sallows but coming down to the grass to grab an insect before returning to its perch. An hour of watching this ritual produced a few decent shots as it was not very approachable.

Having got a number of shots in the bag I then concentrated on getting some flight shots as it returned to its perch and showed off that fabulous red tail with the dark centre. The primaries and secondaries are all brand new and it is too early for an adult female to have completed moult, therefore this bird is a juvenile.

What a fabulous bird and also nice to meet up with our friend Mike O'Hanlon, our Hertfordshire ex-pat..