Tuesday 15 May 2012

An Unusual House Guest

A few days ago I was working at the computer in our office, which is on the mezzanine landing. There are doors off on each side, roughly opposite one another - one into our bedroom and one into the grenier. On this occasion both doors were open.

All of a sudden I was aware of something flying past me and imagine my surprise when I looked up to see a Black Redstart fly out of the grenier, across the mezzanine and into our bedroom!

How it got in we don't know. The most likely explanation is that it got into the far grenier, which isn't insulated and so the rafters are open to the  slated roof. Then it has just flown straight through into the middle grenier and out to where I saw it.

Fortunately it decided to rest on one of the windowsill in our room, obviously somewhat stunned at finding itself with nowhere left to go.


I was able to open both windows but it stayed put. I spoke to it and even stroked it and eventually I was able to take it in my hand and put it out of the window, where it flew to freedom again.

Black Redstarts frequently come into the garage. It's as if they wait for us to vacate the area and then in they go, only leaving if we disturb them. As we've mentioned before here, they have a nest above our front door and we know of one other at the back of the house.

Our bird book says of Black Redstarts: "Habitat,  ....... Buildings in villages"

We think this one is taking it a bit too far!

4 comments:

Tim said...

Ours nested indoors, behind beautiful double glazed windows, two years running... the house was incomplete and they were able to get in through the owl hole in the gable end, then down through the unfinished hatch... first year they were downstairs... then, when the upstairs was almost completed, they used the guest bedroom! The doors made convenient perches for the young to practice from in complete safety.
I think they'd like to continue the practice as they usually look in through the windows when they first arrive.

Tim said...

I forgot to add that they made one heck of a mess of the doors... we had to do a fair bit of cleaning before they could be painted!!

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you posted this picture - we had one visit us yesterday and I couldn't work out what it was. Does it have a kind of black stripe down its side and a coloured tail? It makes a kind of clicking noise - I'd kind of narrowed it down via the RSPB site, but this definitely looks like it!

Anonymous said...

I should also say Steve came in and said he'd had a conversation with it and it was a very friendly little bird - which definitely ties in with your description!