Eastern Black Redstart

The kids safely in school I sped off north yesterday with ADMc to join the small gathering of birders on the shoreline below The Heugh at Holy Island. Mingling with the various retired, unemployed and skivers we exchanged pleasantries about how wonderful a morning it was and how we missed the nine to five.

An object of beauty quivered it's orange-red tail as it danced across the sunlit rocks, the Eastern Black Redstart may have prompted complicated discussions on its taxonomy and split potential under one or other of the various 'species concepts' but I heard little of that from the assembled voyeurs. 'Smart' 'Gorgeous' Nice' 'Sweet' were the superlatives tripping from lips old and older still, as the boy behaved impeccably. A nearby male Black Redstart the perfect foil.

My images are poor in comparison to those with more reach but I was happy enough just to soak this one up ( can't wait to see what Stewart makes of it!). At one point as early arrivals chatted and dispersed I wandered around the south west tip of The Heugh and for a few minutes had it all to myself as it played hide and seek behind the seaweed and pebble strewn beach.

Eastern Black Redstart

We broke the journey back with some fine Tundra Bean Geese in Budle Bay, at least three amongst the flock of Pink-footed Geese; Andy picked out a Greenshank too. Further down the coast we picked up the huge geese flock that had been found a couple of days in stubble around Dunstan Hill; again at least three Tundra Beans, 2 Ross's Geese a large number of European White-fronted Geese and several tens of Barnacle Geese amongst hundreds of Pink-feet made for an appetising lunch stop.