DISTRIBUTION & POPULATION in U.K.

Vista viewing east along Thames gateway from Canary Wharf

The black redstart is unique as a rare breeding bird in Britain as its population is concentrated, in the main, in our urban centres.

The 2 principle areas are Greater London, and Birmingham and the Black Country. There are a few pairs in other cities such as Nottingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Ipswich, and the odd pair at cliff sites and power stations along the south coast between Suffolk and Dorset.

Rare Breeding Birds Panel national reported population figures for last decade

Rare Breeding Birds Panel	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
No. localities	50	36	44	53	66	58	46	67	71	39	39
Confirmed (pairs)	28	23	14	32	32	19	28	33	32	15	24
Possible/probable pairs	46	46	57	44	63	63	37	66	59	35	42
Max. total pairs	74	69	71	76	95	82	65	99	91	50	66

Two pairs of Black Redstarts bred in this area in year 2001