As I write this, we’re being blasted by the full force of Storm Darragh and are hunkered down under a rare Red weather warning (red means threat to life, in this case due to the strength of the winds), so the outstanding views so many locals enjoyed of this particular Black redstart back in March seem just a distant memory (City Hall Black redstart, 8 March).

Another (or, possibly, the same) Black redstart was spotted at Cardiff’s City Hall in late Autumn, and it’s probably still there but has remained high up and mostly shy of people. Perhaps that will change as the winter progresses. I certainly hope so as these are beautiful little birds to watch and spend time alongside.

The main reason I walked in to Cardiff city centre on Wednesday was to see this handsome little dude, the Black redstart that’s been spending his winter months around City Hall.

Although we have these birds in Cardiff Bay, they are distant, mostly spending their time in wasteland behind a high fence, whereas the City Hall bird is really quite confiding, coming to within a few feet of his admirers and seemingly unconcerned about all the local passers by and vehicular traffic.

One birder who was watching the Black redstart while I was there said he thinks this is the same bird that has returned to City Hall three years in a row, and I can certainly understand why it would, as it was having great success finding caterpillars to eat. How birds can spot these amongst the grass from more than six feet away is beyond my understanding.

For me, though, the best thing about the time I spent watching this Black redstart was listening to his almost continuous singing, not something I’ve heard very often before. It was magical!