Whilst doing a low tide Rhymney Est count for BTO, I was rewarded for squelching about in the totally waterlogged Green Point by the river mouth, by the unexpected sight of a stunning Short-eared Owl hunting up & down the S side of the landfill overlooking the river, at about 3 p.m. Low tide counts there are a nightmare – the tide goes out miles!
Called in at Penarth Marina on way home and found the 1st yr male Black Redstart on roofs of Plas Taliesin by the small square overlooking Penarth Marina – at approx 4:30 p.m.
Glamorgan Bird Club 
Hi John,
I was wondering why the Black Redstart is a first year not adult since it has white wing flashes?
Hi Gareth – the one I saw was dull brown, with just a hint of pale wing panels and a not very red tail. Still a Black Redstart tho’. It certainly wasn’t a nice jet black ad male. So it would appear there are two?
I believe there have been a maximum of 2 males and 2 females reported. The one most often seen in Plas Taliesin is a pristine adult male but recently I saw it with another bird like the one you describe – eventually I took this second one to be a female type though, like you, at first I thought it was a male – very confusing!
Cheers Gareth. The only reason I thought was a male type was that there was a distinct hint of a pale panel developing in the wings.