Black Redstart at Brean Down (Year 2!)

Good Friday was 'good' in more ways than one! The weather was glorious! A beautiful sunny Spring day! So I decided to go with my family for a walk along Brean Down, a continuation of the Mendip Hills that stretches about a mile out into the Bristol Channel near Weston Super Mare.
     As expected, a lot of people had had the same idea, and the little car park was packed, but after driving round and round we finally found a spot and didn't have to drive onto the beach to park!
  While the girls took our Flat Coated Retriever, Charm, for a run on the beach, I walked to the corner by the cliffs of the Down to see if I could find the Black Redstarts on the rocks. There had been 2 females present for the Winter, and a Male had been seen here last week!
    A male had been a real star here last year, I got some gorgeous pics of it then and posted them on this blog HERE.

 I didn't see the females, but I found the gorgeous male! He seems to be a different individual to last years as he was far less confiding and harder to photograph!
   There was another bird photographer on the rocks too, his name was Clive Daelman, a guy whose bird pics I've admired for years.... it was great putting a face to the name!
   As the sun warmed the rocks and seaweed amongst them, it was clear why this area is so popular with little birds....the flies emerged from the exposed seaweed in force!
   Stonechats, Pied Wagtails, Rock Pipits, House Sparrows, Robins and the Black Redstart had a feast!

 My family and I then walked up the Down and along to the old fort at the end.
There were plenty of Crows and Jackdaws and Magpies about, and on the grassy slopes I found a migrant Wheatear.
  A fabulous day all round!

Here are some pics from my visit;

^Above^ - Male Black Redstart!

^Above^ - Stonechats.

^Above^ - Rock Pipit with lots of flies to choose from!!

^Above^ - Pied Wagtail..... with lots of flies to choose from!!

^Above^ - Carrion Crows.

^Above^ - Male House Sparrows.

^Above^ - Wheatear on the Down.

^Above^ - Jackdaws.

^Above^ - Shelduck and an Oystercatcher, seen from the top of the Down on the Weston Super Mare  side of the coast.

^Above^ - Dunnock.

^Above^ - Horse on the Down.

^Above^ - Magpies.

^Above^ - Singing Robin.

^Above^ - Woodpigeon.

^Above^ - Lesser Black Back Gulls.

^Above^ - Rabbits on the grassy slopes of the Down.

^Above^ - Brean and Berrow beach, as seen from the Down.

^Above^ - Brean Down. Stunning place to walk with wonderful views!

^Above^ - Yours truly on Brean Down. Love it there!!

That's all for now, except to wish you all a very Happy Easter!! :)

Carl