This morning we made a brief visit to Reculver to try to find and photograph the adult male Black Redstart that had been seen on occassion recently around Reculver Towers. We were unsuccessful in finding the redstart, but were nicely compensated with a confiding Rock Pipit, and from a photographic perspective I didn't leave empty-handed. I spent an enjoyable 10 minutes lying on the paved area beneath the Towers, rattling off several hundred photos before I began to get too cold. The light was poor but the bird was extremely showy, on several occassions foraging unconcerned within a few meters of me. Below is a selection of my favourite images; my best to date of this species.

As we were leaving we were also nicely surprised when an Egyptian Goose flew east over the Towers. This was a long-awaited new species for us at Reculver, and the 24th record for the site.