Monday, 11 April 2016

the heritage coast

We are lucky to have the amazing Heritage Coast so close to us. This a renowned place here in South Wales and you can look it up online. It has an amazing coastline. 
We had a tip off from a good birding friend of ours of some unsual birds that had dropped in, in the area so this early evening my husband and I went for a visit. It was a lovely sunny evening and we realised we hadn't been to the area for long time.
While overlooking the beaches far below from quite a height we heard 2 Chough (pronounced 'Chuff')  fly over. A shy member of the Crow family that is found along rocky coastlines in limited parts of the UK. To tell the difference between a Chough and a Crow is that the Chough is black all over but has red legs and a red bill. No joy with a photo of it but you can read about it here - www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/c/chough/

On our walk around the area a rabbit caught my eye, sitting against the fence line in front of bushes. 


There was a singing Goldcrest in a small wooded area but not obliging for a photo. The odd Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit were seen, along with Crows, Magpies, Chiffchaffs, and a huge flock of Linnet flying around some open grassland areas.
Just as we were heading back we bumped into our birding friend who pointed out a male Redstart on a fence. We headed back up towards it, watched it for a few minutes flitting in and out of the trees and bushes and landing on the fence. Not the bestest of photos of it but a good record shot.



 The beautiful male Redstart (x2 photos above).  Reddish breast, orange-red tail seen in flight, grey back, black face and silvery front of head. They return to the UK for breeding but are also a shy, secretive bird and more likely seen when arriving in spring and departing in the autumn when passing through. When you do see one...what a sight. 
I leave you with mine to admire. Enjoy.



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