A fall of Redstarts
Suffolk, Norfolk and the entire east coast has been buzzing with autumn migrants this weekend. Many Redstart, Wheatear and Pied Flycatcher mixed in with some less common species such as Wryneck, Red-backed Shrike and a possible Semi-collared Flycatcher at Waxham. Overhead, Ospreys and Honey Buzzards went through by the dozen it seems.
Predictably, yet again, I wasn't here... This time however I had a mini "fall" of my own whilst on working on the ship. Up north of the Dogger Bank on Thursday was pretty rough and by first light Friday morning we were hosting dozens of birds. Mostly Redstart but also Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Reed, Garden and Willow Warblers. A little later in the day I noticed an odd bird (thats not a gull..) flying off the foredeck and went running for my "bins" to id an Osprey as it headed away. We also hosted a couple of Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk which ate well judging by the piles of feathers around the bridge. A Dunlin pottered happily around the main deck searching out scraps of food jet-washed of recovered moorings.
Further south, seabirds were more prevelant and I was pleased to spot a few Sooty Shearwaters and had nice close views of Pomarine, Arctic and Great Skuas.
local Redstarts
Thank you for your kind words and apologies for not replying sooner.
Redstart are one of my favourite birds, bold colours always brighten a day in the woods. They are summer visitors to the UK and usually arrive in March with a peak numbers in mid April. Redstarts do breed locally, at Minsmere RSPB reserve for instance, but they are far more common in the deciduous woods in the west of the UK. They can be seen locally on migration, again Minsmere is a good spot to try in spring time.
This year there was an exceptional autumn movement arriving on the UK east coast due to the north east winds. I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and have them all over our ship.
Living in Alderton you are well placed to go out looking for migrants - down to the Deben and Bawdsey marshes. East Lane appears to have a local following too. Good luck with your birding.
Redstarts
Have started birdwatching due to your wonderful blogs. Do keep up the good work.
Can you tell me something about the Redstart? I live in Alderton but haven't seen any locally.
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