Black Redstart
Phoenicurus ochruros
  |
|
Distribution Britain 103 (+51.5%) Ireland 0
Numbers breeding: Britain 99 RBBP Ireland 0 European status: 4,500,000 (0% in Britain and Ireland) British population trend: gradually increasing How likely are you to record it? 4 squares (0.1%) Ranked 167= |
This was a very rare visitor in the 19th century but was recorded nesting in Durham in 1845 and Sussex in 1909 — and two pairs close by in 1923 on coastal cliffs. This sort of site continues to be used but in 1926 the first city site was used inland — extensive destruction by the Luftwaffe(in World War II) provided extra breeding sites. The number of breeding pairs fluctuated from about 20 to 70 pairs up to 1970 and increased to over 100 in some years recently (118 in 1988 for instance). There are now fewer in London and along the South Coast and more in the Midlands and East Anglia. Urban sites used are now most likely power stations, marshalling yards, warehousing estates, etc., and not bombed sites. Breeding has been suspected on about five occasions in Scotland since 1973 and may, possibly, have taken place in Ireland as there have been a few summer records. The first breeding in South Wales was in 1981 and in the North 1984. Now properly established as a British breeding bird.
From
The
State of the Nations Birds
Copyright © 2000 by Chris Mead