After what seemed like an eternity I finally managed to get out with the camera again on Sunday. Following a text message from Ian White on saturday evening inviting Rob and I to photograph a Black redstart in his neck of the woods. Arrangement were made and we made the 80 mile trip on Sunday morning. The sun was shining when we arrived and as we walked onto the beach we could see Ian's tripod and 800mm bazooka mounted on top before we actually saw Ian. After a very short wait I spotted the Black Redstart fly over the top of the sea wall and land only 20-30m away from us. We all edged slowly closer and the first shots were in the bag as the bird was busy catching flies around the rocks. After a little while the bird flew off down the beach and could be seen with binoculars flitting around at the base of the cliffs. We decided to wait for it to return as the spot we were in had been a previous favourite spot, twenty minutes or so later the bird was still in the same place the three of us made our way towards it and when close enough sat  on the rocks and watched as the bird was constantly chasing and catching the flies that seemed fairly plentiful, probably due to the unseasonably warm weather. We all managed some great photo's despite the fact that the bird rarely stayed still for more than a second or so.

Many thanks to Ian for making this possible and a new species for both Rob and I

black redstart (male)Constantly on the move and caching flies, Brean down, Somerset