Birds
Black Redstart voted Garden Animal of the Year
Black Redstarts (Phoenicurus ochruros) love higher places such as treetops, roof gables or walls. Photo
© Georg Moritz/dpa
This year’s garden animal of the year is a real early riser. It can be found in many gardens and in high places.
The black redstart has been chosen as the garden animal of the year 2024. It was chosen in an online vote by the Heinz Sielmann Foundation in Duderstadt. “The black redstart is easy to recognize with its distinctive plumage and song and is also a fascinating flying artist and insect catcher,” said the foundation’s press spokesman, Florian Amrhein. The bird is one of the early risers in the garden. The anthracite-colored males sing their songs two hours before sunrise. But even during the day you can hear their song, a mixture of chirping and crunching, for hours. The females have a more brownish plumage. Both have the eponymous rusty red tail.
Black redstarts love higher places such as treetops, roof gables or walls. The animals nest there in small niches up to three times a year. In addition to insects, berries are also on the bird’s menu. Between November and March it normally hibernates in an area that stretches from North Africa to the Middle East. Due to climate change, however, it can also stay in Central Europe during the winter.
The black redstart was chosen in an online vote in which six animal species were available to choose from. It received 42.8 percent of the votes. According to the foundation, more than 10,000 people took part in the vote. This year, the winner beat out competitors such as the sand lizard, the red fox and the zebra jumping spider. The foundation is named after the nature filmmaker Heinz Sielmann and is committed to preserving habitats. The Garden Animal of the Year has been chosen since 2010.