Tuesday 27 March 2012

A male Black Red!

Black Redstart
I got a text from Kevin Hazlegrove this afternoon saying that he'd had a female-type Black Redstart at Canons Farm, between the farmhouse and Legal & General. I made my way over there and quickly found a male Black Redstart on and around the barns near the farmhouse! Seemed as if there were two birds, then, but Kevin later said that his sighting was naked eye only and it was possible that it may have been a male that he'd found. I predicted that we'd get a male this year, after having somewhere around ten female-types in the last two years.

I'm wondering whether this bird is an adult, a 2cy male or 3cy male. I don't think it's an adult as it lacks a clear white wing panel but then is it too advanced for a first year (in March/April 2010 there was a singing bird that looked like a female but it was put down as a 2cy because I could not find any evidence that females sing)? Mind you, I'd have thought that Black Redstarts would reach full adult plumage by their second spring...? Perhaps it's just a relatively subdued male... research needed.