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| Black Redstart |
'Ru-dee-dee-dee-dee-deee!' That is the sound that I could hear over the noise of traffic and the hubbub of high street shoppers walking by. It was just loud enough for my ears to detect it while urban life continues all around me, attempting to drown it out. This was bird song I was hearing, a lovely short but bright song that accelerates near its conclusion. A song that would be more at home in a European forest than the heart of a city. I could hear it as far as the market place in Norwich's centre and it took me some time to follow this sound to the songster performing at the top of a TV aerial on the roof of a café adjacent to the entrance of the Castle Mall on London Street. This was a black redstart, my first ever on British soil.
You're probably shocked to hear that I've never seen a black redstart in the UK until now. Well, they've been avoiding me for quite some time. I've seen them while I was in France two years ago, but that was only because they are more of a garden bird in Europe. Here in the UK, these small dark cousins of the European robin aren't quite as common and prefer more industrial or urban sites rather than in someone's garden. British black redstarts are a bit of an enigma. No one knows why they aren't the garden bird that they are on the Continent. During World War II, black redstarts were known as 'Blitz birds' as they took advantage of the destruction caused by the Luftwaffe and their numbers doubled dramatically. Today, London is supposedly still the place to see them. In Norwich, however, they've only just started to show up. At least, I've never known reports of them here until recently. So, if you're off shopping in the city this week, listen out for them.
You're probably shocked to hear that I've never seen a black redstart in the UK until now. Well, they've been avoiding me for quite some time. I've seen them while I was in France two years ago, but that was only because they are more of a garden bird in Europe. Here in the UK, these small dark cousins of the European robin aren't quite as common and prefer more industrial or urban sites rather than in someone's garden. British black redstarts are a bit of an enigma. No one knows why they aren't the garden bird that they are on the Continent. During World War II, black redstarts were known as 'Blitz birds' as they took advantage of the destruction caused by the Luftwaffe and their numbers doubled dramatically. Today, London is supposedly still the place to see them. In Norwich, however, they've only just started to show up. At least, I've never known reports of them here until recently. So, if you're off shopping in the city this week, listen out for them.
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