Black redstart

 

A beautiful male black redstart visits the balcony today, which is a rarity. The female and young birds often visit but the males seem to keep away for some reason. Black redstarts are very common around here so it is surprising that the males are rarely seen.

  Update: 03102020

  Another rare visitor today was this cute bird (below). Initially I thought it was a blackcap but then maybe a coal tit or willow tit. After checking in my bird book I came away none the wiser and the nearest ID I could put to it was a willow tit.

Visits to the balcony so far have included:

Great tits (the most common)

Blue tits

Redstarts and black redstarts

Crested tits

Nuthatches (second most common)

Magpies

Crows

Green woodpecker

Bulfinch

Chaffinch

Willow tit* (*maybe)

... and below, pictured today the frequent flyer great tit and a green woodpecker, an occasional visitor.

 

... a green woodpecker pays a brief visit.