Swarovski 80HD Nikon CP995

Habitat	Behaviour	Male	Female

Stonechat

Saxicola torquata 13cm

Although not particularly common, Stonechats are easily relocated once spotted, as they tend to stay within a well defined territory for most of the time.

The male and female birds are not usually far apart as they flit from one prominent perch to another making frequent harsh scratchy calls.

For digiscoping, Stonechats are close to the ideal subjects. They are very photogenic, stay in the same place and will pose on prominent perches for minutes at a time.

I had to get up early in the morning to photograph these birds, to avoid the heat haze that develops over the heathland on Cannock Chase at this time of the year on a sunny day. If your digiscoping yourself, you'll probably already know that heat haze prevents any sort of sharp focusing.