New bird for my Oare Marsh bird List

♂ Common Redstart.

News of a ♂ Common Redstart in the horse paddock at Oare Marshes yesterday morning the 6th April  made up my mind where to go this morning.

I only had limited time today so headed straight there and after parking up it only took me a few minutes to locate the really smart looking ♂ Common Redstart.

Black face mask with white stripe above.

I was the only birder there looking at it when i got a phone call from MW asking me if i had seen it again, MW had first found it at 7.10am , i thanked him for the news and he informed me he had seen a Spotted Redshank & Little Owl as well this morning.

In flight.

The Common Redstart was often spooked by cars driving past but soon returned to the area at the back of the paddock along the hedges and fence posts , it spent most of the time on the ground feeding.

Lovely red tail.

I was joined by MW and other birders and we all enjoyed some great views of this brightly coloured bird and checking my notes this is the 1st Common Redstart i have personally seen at Oare Marshes.

♂ Common Redstart.

I had enough time left to walk around past the hide on the East flood and look for the Little Owl and sure enough it was sitting out in the open and was a welcome addition to my year list.

Distant Little Owl.