I have lost count of the opportunities that I have had  to photograph Stonechat,  a nice bird to see here in Devon at all times of the year.  In the breeding season they are easy to find on Dartmoor and I have had endless hours of entertainment photographing them.  This Autumn I photographed a pair in flight when the male was in attractive full colour but at this time of year the males are in eclipse plumage and while still smart, not quite so distinctive.  However, the females looks the same year round.   In my experience they seem to stay in pairs all year and if you see one,  it's mate will usually  be nearby.  In the winter they can be found in areas nearer the coast such as the East Devon heaths and marshes, still in their pairs. Here they seem to find enough to eat in the bracken, heather and gorse as well as from time to time launching themselves in to the air to "hawk" for flying insects.  They conveniently sit on exposed perches making them easy to spot.  I was on Woodbury Common today looking for the Great Grey Shrike  that has been seen, on and off since last Monday.  All in all I counted 9 or 10 different birders there,  all searching for the  bird but no one could find it…. and my friend Dave and I were there for 4 hours!  However we did see Stonechat pairs almost all afternoon and one bird just kept  flying nearer and nearer to us as we stood on the track.  It presented a great photo opportunity which we gratefully accepted. 

So there we are on the common and  one or two of the other birders started to tell of the Dartford Warblers that they had seen and photographed both today and recently.  I saw a Dartford Warbler,  It's not the best photograph  that I have taken but its the first time since 2008 that I have seen one close enough to photograph.  I really do hope that we have a mildish winter and that they survive to breed next spring. 

………….. Dartford Warbler.  This looks to be a female I think.