Adrian Dancy
D20A5169 Stonechat, (Saxicola rubicola), Holcombe Moor, Bury, Greater Manchester
The Defiance of a Stormchat.
0745.22.11.2025
Back in 2023 I did my usual photography/conservation work by visiting black redstarts each day in Manchester. I also visited a pair of stonechats each afternoon that were breeding on Holcombe Hill which is north of Bury. The male was, from the start, reasonably approachable. You could not chase it (not my style). I knew where it liked to perch so I put myself near its perch and waited for it to come close, I used a bit of camo to look less human. I put out live mealworms. The female was not tolerant of humans so for several days I simply kept low in a gully lying on my belly like a sniper. Over about three days it came closer and closer and eventually over a couple of weeks I earned its complete trust and eventually I could sit on a stool in reasonable comfort without her getting spooked. I visited and fed the birds each day no matter what the weather was like and on top of the hill it got very windy and when it rained it poured! (as you might see in this image). The male in this image has come for a feed and to collect food for young. There were 5 pairs of stonechats and a pair of wheatear that set up breeding territories on my side of the hill. All territories failed because of stoat/weazel predation or human disturbance. My stonechat pair had two succesful broods. It was a delight and a privilege to be so trusted by these birds and even when they were not being fed the adults and young hung around me like little sentinels. It was beautiful.
D20A5169 Stonechat, (Saxicola rubicola), Holcombe Moor, Bury, Greater Manchester
The Defiance of a Stormchat.
0745.22.11.2025
Back in 2023 I did my usual photography/conservation work by visiting black redstarts each day in Manchester. I also visited a pair of stonechats each afternoon that were breeding on Holcombe Hill which is north of Bury. The male was, from the start, reasonably approachable. You could not chase it (not my style). I knew where it liked to perch so I put myself near its perch and waited for it to come close, I used a bit of camo to look less human. I put out live mealworms. The female was not tolerant of humans so for several days I simply kept low in a gully lying on my belly like a sniper. Over about three days it came closer and closer and eventually over a couple of weeks I earned its complete trust and eventually I could sit on a stool in reasonable comfort without her getting spooked. I visited and fed the birds each day no matter what the weather was like and on top of the hill it got very windy and when it rained it poured! (as you might see in this image). The male in this image has come for a feed and to collect food for young. There were 5 pairs of stonechats and a pair of wheatear that set up breeding territories on my side of the hill. All territories failed because of stoat/weazel predation or human disturbance. My stonechat pair had two succesful broods. It was a delight and a privilege to be so trusted by these birds and even when they were not being fed the adults and young hung around me like little sentinels. It was beautiful.