Whinchat 03 crop

Whinchat Saxicola rubetra

Powys, Wales, May 2010

  Whinchat 05 female

A very small and active little moorland bird.  I was lucky enough to find a nest by a roadside in Powys and get reasonably close photographs of both the male and female.   I think the photograph below is of a juvenile, presumably a recent fledgling.

  Whinchat 04 juvenile

  Whinchat 06c male

  Whinchat 08 male

Stonechat 39b

Stonechat  Saxicola torquata

Malvern Hills, June 2008

One of the best places to photograph these upland birds is along moorland roads with roadside fences. Beanbag on the car window with a close eye on the traffic, a slow roll up to them is often the trick.   This family also includes the Redstarts.

Stonechat 47

Stonechat 39

Wheatear 21

Male in summer plumage.  Rhyader, Mid Wales (May 2010).

Wheatear  Oenanthe oenanthe

Wheatear 05                                                                                              Wheatear 19 (crop)

Female in winter plumage. Douglas, Isle of Man.                          Female in summer plumage. Powys, Wales, UK.

Wheatear 13 Greenland

The peach-coloured Greenland Wheatear (female).  A regular visitor to the UK.

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