Hi Paul. Yes I know, its a fabulous looking bird, one I’ve seen often abroad
but to have flitting around my very ordinary house and garden is wonderful. It seems to prefer a small courtyard / carpark up the road and I’ve seen it on the rooftops of my neighbours a few times during dry spells. Not at all typical habitat.
I would say those *are* quite typical habitats for birds in UK, based on my limited experience and wider reading. Industrial or domestic buildings, concrete or tarmac’ed areas (presumably used in the same way as Pied Wagtails), unused building sites, demolished buildings or ruins, and frequently flying to rooftops.
It’s ironic that I’ve scanned many ” suitable” looking sites while working, eg Aberthaw, Cardiff bay water treatment works, Penarth marina etc with no luck, then one just pops up in my backyard. 😀
There’s up to 4 foraging on waste ground at Porth Teigr near Roath Dock, Cardiff at the moment. When I worked in London, when around, they frequented old bomb sites in the east of the city. They did breed on occasion. Indeed one year there was a male singing most days in a ruined site overlooked by my office window for most of the summer. He never attracted a mate!
Hi John. The male when seen in bright sunshine is a real beauty ( what female couldn’t be attracted by that !) I haven’t seen him for a few days but my neighbour forwarded a pic of him on her clothes line, so it’s still about and hopefully will be throughout the winter , In fact most of my neighbours are keeping their eyes peeled for him.
Glamorgan Bird Club 
Nice to have one actually on your property!
Hi Paul. Yes I know, its a fabulous looking bird, one I’ve seen often abroad
but to have flitting around my very ordinary house and garden is wonderful. It seems to prefer a small courtyard / carpark up the road and I’ve seen it on the rooftops of my neighbours a few times during dry spells. Not at all typical habitat.
I would say those *are* quite typical habitats for birds in UK, based on my limited experience and wider reading. Industrial or domestic buildings, concrete or tarmac’ed areas (presumably used in the same way as Pied Wagtails), unused building sites, demolished buildings or ruins, and frequently flying to rooftops.
It’s ironic that I’ve scanned many ” suitable” looking sites while working, eg Aberthaw, Cardiff bay water treatment works, Penarth marina etc with no luck, then one just pops up in my backyard. 😀
There’s up to 4 foraging on waste ground at Porth Teigr near Roath Dock, Cardiff at the moment. When I worked in London, when around, they frequented old bomb sites in the east of the city. They did breed on occasion. Indeed one year there was a male singing most days in a ruined site overlooked by my office window for most of the summer. He never attracted a mate!
Hi John. The male when seen in bright sunshine is a real beauty ( what female couldn’t be attracted by that !) I haven’t seen him for a few days but my neighbour forwarded a pic of him on her clothes line, so it’s still about and hopefully will be throughout the winter , In fact most of my neighbours are keeping their eyes peeled for him.