Look smart: now is the time to see the dashing redstart in oak woods and on upland farms
Michaela Strachan talks redstarts on Tweet of the Day
MAY IS AN EXCELLENT TIME TO SEEK out redstarts, among the most beautiful of our summer migrants They are mainly birds of old oak woods, especially in the north and west, but can also be seen in hill country with scattered trees.
On upland farms, they often feed along dry-stone walls, dropping to the ground to catch flies on sheep dung. In his book English Pastoral, the farmer-author James Rebanks delights in their “little red tails… flitting along by the sheep from one thorn tree to the next. Their tails flash with each wing beat, little triangular wedges of freshly cut mahogany.” This is the feature for which the birds are named, ‘start’ being derived from the Old English for ‘tail’.
However, while male redstarts look smart, their song sadly isn’t. It is a simple warble that ends in a flourish – like a chaffinch to some ears, but less tuneful.