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!

Sometimes You Get What You Wish For....Even If It's Only A Moth!

I was really hoping that Bun would catch a Herald in the moth trap last night and he did! I  really wanted to catch a Pine Beauty too but thought that it wasn't going to be very likely in Seaton. Guess what? Yes, there was one of those too! :-) Also a third new moth, Brindled Beauty. I've seen two new birds for the year today too, those being House Martin, with three flying around at the ringing session at Seaton Marshes this morning and this afternoon at Black Hole Marsh, six Whimbrel.

The Herald (....of summer I hope)

Pine Beauty ... And isn't it just!?

Brindled Beauty.

At Black Hole Marsh the Whimbrel  weren't playing ball and hid on the far side of distant gravel island from where one would periodically appear for a couple of seconds. 

Shame because I really like them.
 Hopefully though they will be the first of many.

 They flew off high west at about five thirty.

This Little Ringed Plover is highly likely to be one of yesterday's trio,

 the one with the very prominent eye ring.

Rock Pipit, probably of race littoralis.

Rex found a looky-likey playmate on his walk today. 

I thought it was  far more handsome than him, but don't tell him that!!!

Three White, Brown and Black, Marshy, Swampy Birds.

There were three Little Ringed Plovers ( or white, brown and black, marshy, swampy birds as my son calls them as opposed to white brown and black perchy ones (Woodchat Shrike) I don't think he'll make a birder any day soon) gracing Black Hole Marsh with their presence this afternoon. I popped down there to see if I could get a photo with them all in it but they kept too well apart for most of the time. Three is the most I've ever seen together too, which was nice :-)

I had to keep well zoomed out to fit three in the shot.... 

I thought I had all three in the next one while looking at the camera screen ....

...But as you can see I didn't. One of these  three looks suspiciously un-plover like! I think the day is fast approaching when I'll need to take my reading glasses birding with me! :(

Another scintillating new moth species, Small Quaker.