A Redstart Serenade

Last weekend I fancied a change from the usual scenery and headed over to Thursley Common in Surrey, a site I became quite fond of during numerous mid-winter great grey shrike vigils. Thursley in the cooler months is a formidable place, a creeping Narnia where birds are relatively few - it's always winter but never Christmas. Thursley in spring however is very different, the sweet gorse blooms and the insects' hum portray a fine example of extensive lowland UK heathland.


Walking across the site, it was impossible to miss the fluid, descending songs of tree pipits and the scolding calls of Stonechats. Whitethroats, Willow warblers, Skylarks and more followed. But it was seeking out a strip of deciduous woodland that led my favourite encounter of the morning. It looked like a good spot for redstarts and so it proved, as not more than a minute had elapsed before a small spark of a bird flicked through the trees ahead of me. Glancing up I saw it was a male Common Redstart, a bird I don't see much in my corner of south eastern England. Of all our migrant birds, arriving in spring, I wonder if there are any that come close to matching this bird for beauty - a spritely mix of oranges, blues, blacks, with a smear of dusty white. I watched as it climbed higher into the canopy above me and paused for a moment, before uttering its impression of a forgetful Chaffinch. It's perhaps not a song that matches its visual appeal, but it was still rather lovely to hear nonetheless...

Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus), Thursley Common, Surrey, 19/4/14