The First Male Redstart of the Year....Always Worth a Bit of Effort.

After Ian M texted news of a male Redstart on Beer Head this morning, I decided to brave the cold northerly wind and go for a look. I yomped around on Beer Head for a good while but it was nowhere to be seen. There was more than a small chance that it had already moved further inland, possibly to Beer Cemetery Fields, a favourite 'next stop' for incoming migrants after Beer Head. I wasn't surprised then when I got a text from Bun telling of one here too. I hurried from Beer Head to the Cemetery Fields, where Bun kindly pointed me in the right direction and  I eventually got some lovely views of the bird. It was very wary though ( as spring Redstarts always seem to be) and I couldn't get anywhere near close enough to get a photo with my super-zoom. It was definitely a digiscoping job! I hadn't got my scope with me though so just enjoyed watching it for a while. I went home happy with what I'd seen and put the kettle on. Whilst drinking my cuppa I looked at my scope sitting in the corner of the kitchen and thought " Oh, what the heck! I'm going back to try for a photo, after all I've nothing better to do". Well  that's if I don't count the weeks and weeks worth of neglected housework, which I don't! ;-) Fortunately it was still there but there was now a fair bit of heat haze in the midday sun. Happily though it did venture just close enough for a shot or two to come out okay. Steve joined me for a while, he'd also been chasing Redstarts all morning, without any luck. I'm pleased to say he saw this one though.  I told him that it wouldn't tolerate an approach with a super-zoom camera but he was having non of it and proceeded to give me a very impressive display of his stalking ability, whereupon it flew off!! It was back as soon as he'd retreated to an acceptable distance though.

Here he is, virtually invisible! 

I can't imagine how it saw him!

The first Redstart of the year is always special.

 You just have to see it! Don't you?!

I saw three Adders on Beer Head this morning.

 This is the first photo I've managed of one this year.

Shoulder Stripe:

 New for the garden yesterday, this one was a bit overdue as it appears to have been caught by most other 'blogging moth-ers' this year!