Prompted by reports of two good birds within a short distance of each other, I headed off to Coleshill on a bright-looking Tuesday. It took me a while to find the location for the Black Redstart, but once there, the bird was directly in front of me when I arrived. The light started to go, and so I decided to head off to find the Firecrest before it was too late - guided by a local birder who knew exactly where to go. After a brief false alarm with a goldcrest at close quarters, we found the Firecrest almost immediately. The light was terrible, however, and so the photos were grim.
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCcQxwUUvdobjkssxMa0MCJ6SUwOjRx4xGHpwwduuWLYXNybH4KI8oir0pmyA-44rAsJhHI4eUfswNebF7cqFmYh6JNpJz6yblYM1RJyMQS38iWlEVzjofHFhh_QgHRlwYNq67JWJDlyP/s400/_RHP8685+black+redstart+x.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0BrrpKU3xr-CZ9uMf7uWKC5vDV1MFAsTf-D8kolD-AMPNIq0d40_PdUh2vOxaRhIQ-S4GxvPJh1lhx-pwukfieCxi-cWp2hlsKIL7ZSPTHWFHUHT40Frjvyd6FtrTM8e78K_Di0Decv9/s400/_RHP8703+black+redstart+x.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB0fYF15Oe_UopWVSbNdV_VfRiVwizkamGecLIAjTZFpTbO1SiX83tAQrMd5beFdqxMlnPPRkckpqe2ivWGcIZvOy6QWMyxMAEf5WvYMZ-aCP3WpE-rnw2Ed2iJub2C-s_G1vtgt1P8isY/s400/_RHP8721+black+redstart+x.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCk5-Iyi8KgRx9j4vNHe5Ym2Q0SCiCR5MzexwxEY1vF16b_tN04fAb4YXIixpyMeA3YV96yvVI9Qmi6Zq2NbErV6hw72jsDlBiE1TdwVZt_deiDMFL9-zRfQ669AyVptzng5c2ClPU8hXp/s400/_RHP8724+black+redstart+x.jpg)
Black Redstart
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgv1Voy6XPbnIWtpwDpvgKlY0sUd8FeSMb9HM2xQdaV8JVvJ1GIZGYqaaYI6qzeEXKvRUy6iN1FkdUQHHRxQAhJPuXg1ShXCgGI4f_JJVrSbIyvJoxA14_F0I5KpWNz5NuvSIPR0h8GNCf/s400/_RHP8765+firecrest.jpg)
Firecrest
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH_n8mrgFrAqeuKXYCppC8segtCk-2dR9EahJDdI5YAOQ3GgE4RY6sZOcg55xNETlYH80nfGHXDwVNWTkjseWsdEZ5LiXZwywlyG3W_Q-wnhh2eZn7cqzRm-nbKRdSe0JvlKmI90thUniY/s400/_RHP8802+goldcrest.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCuzrtvvtemqwQkF2yPXVbyZAoQVttcSkRnOu_u1RZGyJjwmmf-Y6pZxsRCqpDPEolIho7VKAo1NQ6u90WNDVyve9zW_yiQDmpYX3zuzschfhpsjxXqXE2He6geIz-mjJBenJ-nYpoIjdv/s400/_RHP8805+goldcrest.jpg)
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The following Saturday was a beautifully bright day, so I went back. However, after more than two hours, round a time when a local birder said that "it's always here at this time", I decided to give up, thinking that it had probably moved on (all the goldcrests seemed to have disappeared also), and take another look at the Black Redstart.
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYFKFjrMTgRkXK8XLRK27NJIxlLs8ngOrLjy_kUB84Et_eUP9UHQzyu6rvl3VoopSSdeLyofPwYnzbgmy4JPvupOTj4HRvEnng3fosq-GUhi0wtjMYLCnpFIwgirOjeew5Av5XaLVJiY81/s400/_RHP8852+black+redstart+x.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGGdCwbiiS1le73iDb681e-r34F4Q9-gZWtZVMAfMO3ExgZjh1OrvIFdIO34628ZSE2aQJuQU_efdLY75ppFAdZo6-bLjEOwyWg_Ll46rjHu6OO-cvqEDA8XYcIG2uFAVXoQwlE0yQPSU/s400/_RHP8861+black+redstart+xx.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSnGTre5JfUHDqWyYAlOMAZL11HQpfETQLlu_KeUrsVtp6q1GFxHWPtgAJVGMR6P2vUVcJVof7wbI2RLS-pqxtgETmeLjE8_9n-eW0p1IR1-cj0cWiwsafL_RpWgTgvP0Sq5SroaMc0ara/s400/_RHP8904+black+redstart+x.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgst7jbgHCDTA-zWIZTEqFRtDlUtwZ1_jwoDHF3aUNBtpRCd6Z3FV6YWqIoLB2XRcK4GcNb5Bvx50w1JjqC3QxF6EUPNiN_iY912KefrFSQjaa2PZcPycPPnKj82MP5rBgzaemQnXjf1fGy/s400/_RHP8910+black+redstart+x.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcWdfQx3rN41VQnTysoRmiY-2NhS_yQXi2-PFx3EP6DCRqwOZT6L80H-Qa8rQBVzM75yA2rGyE_LK1TZ2kF_6QZcBt47bRRWWsGcH_7oGk3DUu-7Te9n35f7Px3oDRStgmPIJe4R-FjxW1/s400/_RHP8921+black+redstart+x.jpg)
Black Redstart