Swarovski 80HD Nikon CP995

Habitat	Behaviour	Male	Female
Fledgling pair	Fledgling

Redstart

Phoenicurus phoenicurus 10-12cm

Redstarts are extremely attractive summer visitors to the oak woodlands of northern and western Britain. They are about the size of a Robin and are easily recognised by their distinctively coloured plumage.

Redstarts begin arriving back in Staffordshire from their wintering grounds in Africa in late April. Sherbrook Valley on Cannock Chase is an excellent place to see them up close. At times the brightly coloured males seem to be extremely tolerant of human activity and will occasionally perch within a few yards of you before flitting off to their next vantage point.

Females lack the bright plumage of the males but can be identified by the chestnut brown tail with dark central tail feathers. The tail is often moved up and down in a quiverring motion that has caused me a certain amount of frustration trying to photograph the birds under the forest canopy in low light with slow shutter speeds.