Rare bird flutters into Royston

A RARE bird fluttered into Royston this week.

The female black redstart was spotted by David Hatton in the garden of his home, appropriately in Redwing Rise.

It is thought there are only 50-75 pairs breeding in the UK, and sightings usually occur only near the coast.

Mr Hatton said: “I was very lucky to spot it, and even luckier to get a photograph before it whizzed off.”

The birds, which are about the size of a robin, have grey and brown plummage, with a distinctive red tail, which is often fanned. They are on the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ amber list of birds of conservation concern.

Picture by David Hatton (Art16)