One of Britain's rarest birds breeds in Birmingham
This picture marks the end of a five year personal quest marked by frustration and some very early starts. I can't tell you how happy it makes me.
It all began when I discovered that central Birmingham was home to some of the rarest birds in the country, the black redstart. The more I learnt about them the more I wanted to see one. Especially as where I live in the city's Jewellery Quarter is prime black redstart country.
These small birds love the abandoned factories that line Birmingham's canals. They make their homes at the very back of old buildings which they enter through small gaps in the brickwork or broken windows.
The black redstart has always been a rare sight in this country but as Birmingham began to spruce up its city centre the broken buildings loved by these birds began to disappear. I started to worry I would never be lucky enough to see one. Reports suggest there are just two or three breeding pairs in the city.
I would always keep my ears open when walking back home early in the morning. The male likes to perch on the highest point it can find and sing it's heart out to attract a mate. So I'd watch the top of church spires, the law courts and even the giant cranes listening for their very distinctive call. It makes a huge noise for such a small bird.
Many times we went out at five in the morning for Springwatch to try and capture one of these birds on film. But we always returned empty handed.
In the end it was some dedicated sleuthing by keen Birmingham bird enthusiasts that tracked a black restart down to a building right in the city centre. And they found not just one bird but a whole family including four young chicks. Although we can't reveal the exact location it's behind a building I walk past every day on my way to work.
So this is the end of a great journey for me. And I'm so happy to have finally seen the flash of red under the wing as the male zips into its nest to feed his youngsters bright green caterpillars. This rarest of birds living almost unnoticed in a city of more than a million people is one of Birmingham's greatest secrets.
You can find video of the young family on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Birmingham website . The West Midland Bird Club has more on black redstarts . And the RSPB page is .
I'm David Gregory, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Science Correspondent for the West Midlands. My first law states: "Science is the answer." There is no second law. Feel free to drop me a line: 
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