I was just getting ready this morning with a view to popping down to Priors Hall when a message on the Eyebrook Whats App group alerted me to the discovery of a female Red-backed Shrike between Bringhurst and Cottingham. Regular Eyebrook birder Andrzej had found the bird and released the news promptly even including a video in his post. A brief exchange of texts with Alan Shorrock followed and we were soon on the road in search of this rare visitor.
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| Red-backed Shrike |
We'd just left Cottingham when we encountered a small group of birders near the car boot sale site adjacent to the Welland. Seems that the shrike had now moved into Northants as several people had apparently seen it here. We spent quite a bit of time looking for it in the company of the small but growing band of birders, sadly none of us struck lucky. Shozzer and I moved on to check the wider area when a message from Phil Rogers reported that the shrike was still at its original spot over the border in Leicestershire. Needless to say we headed there as fast as poss and were getting distant but decent views of it soon after. Given that this bird had been present here since its discovery it's difficult to know whether there were two Red-backeds in the valley or if this one made a quick but unnoticed foray into Northants. Whatever the truth I managed a few record shots before other commitments brought the mini-twitch to a halt. I'm sure that Priors would have been productive but also equally sure I wouldn't have found a Red-backed Shrike - cheers Andrzej!
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| A further view. |
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