After a nice (if rainy) day out birding on Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, we were sitting in a restaurant with our cameras around our necks, looking at our new bird photos when a lady next to me looked at my camera display and asked: “Oh, what a lovely bird. What is it?” So I said: “It’s a stonechat.” “A WHAT??” was her reply.

You won’t find stonechats in your garden. They prefer heathland or coastal sites with gorse bushes.

Male Stonechat

Stonechats are very beautiful little birds. They look a little bit like robins (in fact they are closely related – robins are also members of the ‘chat’ family). In summer plumage, the male has a black head with white patches on each side of his neck (almost like a collar) and an orangey-red chest. The female is brown but also has an orange tint to her chest.

Female Stonechat on gorse

Stonechats are insectivorous but don’t migrate to Africa in winter so they’re very susceptible to cold weather.

Juvenile Stonechat

Stonechats can be quite shy but do like to let you know they’re around, perching conspicuously on top of small bushes, birch or conifer saplings, bracken or gorse while constantly flicking their short wings and uttering alarm calls. These sound like little stones being tapped together – hence the name ‘stonechat’. If you try to approach them, they’ll fly off but not too far from their previous perch, calling loudly as if to say “Ha ha, you can’t get me!” I love stonechats!

Female Stonechat calling

For more stonechat  photos please have a look here:
http://www.finepetportraits.co.uk/stonechat-bird-photos.html

Sandra Palme
www.finepetportraits.co.uk