The Redwing

Today we had our first visit from a very rare visitor indeed, a Redwing. 

At first I thought it was a Mistle Thrush but then we noticed it had a red side and a few photographs later and a check of the RSPB website and it was confirmed. The redwing played in the garden with what was either a female Redwing (? see below) or a Mistle Thrush for around 30 minutes. It seemed very tame, coming within 10 metres of us whilst we cleared some winter leaves from the lawn.

Apparently there are only a handful of breeding pairs in the UK, and the migratory birds which visit in autumn and winter breed in Iceland and the Faroe Islands before coming to Scotland, Ireland etc. to avoid the coldest parts of the season. So it seems this was a visitor from up north...

RSPB Illustration