Red backed Shrike

 As mentioned last time,  this has been a good month for Red backed Shrikes in the UK. The Northern Isles have had the lions share with up to 30 odd a day on Fair Isle only with plenty of Icterine and Marsh Warblers too. This makes it all the more frustrating when odd birds appear either side of the patch but despite searching, we've had no luck.

So, not wanting to miss out on at least some of the action, a nice male popped up about 6 miles from home at Football Hole near the Long Nanny at Low Newton, so we called along on Friday night for a look.

It was a pleasant sunny evening and we soon saw the shrike sitting around a hawthorn hedgerow across a field corner. It was always a bit distant for photos but decent views were had as it sallied down into the grass for an unseen prey species. At one stage he even began singing in the lee of a bush while catching the last rays of evening sunshine.

Male Red backed Shrike.

On Sunday some good migrant grounding weather encouraged us to head off to Holy Island where there was bound to be things of interest.

We got an exhausted soaking as we covered the Chare Ends, Excavations, Straight Lonnen and Crooked Lonnen with little to show for it. We had single Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat and Garden Warbler plus we flushed a 'long headed' warbler that may have been an Icterine or an Acro but it was never seen again. Bird of the moring was a ringtail Harrier hunting in the fog and rain. Better views by other obserevers showed the bird to be a first summer male Hen Harrier.

Later in the afternoon, after we had left, Andy Mould found and photographed a Green Warbler, a county first no less, but despite many searching, the bird was only seen briefly once more and that was the end of that.

On Bank Holiday Monday, Jane and I went back up on to the island to have a picnic over the high tide. Its great being cut off on there, like a proper island. No tourists and just quite big skies.

I didnt really search for passerines, but had 3 Little Stints with 150 Ringed Plovers on the causeway on our way home.

  

King of the Bank Holiday...

 Did you watch the Coronation on Saturday? I did. Well most of it, anyway. I dont see my self as a Royalist but I do like the basic tradition of it all. I don't agree with all the hangers on and in particular these land grabbing Dukes and that ilk. Come the revolution they'd be first against the wall, but King Charles III and the bairn ( not Harry) are OK by me.

While the ceremonies played out on TV  a Holly Blue was in the garden, the first Orange Tips of the year were in the Village Wood and a Lesser Whitethroat sang by the Village Hall.

Sunday had us down to Boulmer for the first time in a while to look for migrants. The fog was thick and lasted all morning. We covered the whole area and didn't see the sea once. For our trouble we had 8+ Common and 3 Lesser Whitethroats, 2 Fieldfares emerged from the front bushes and immediately vanished into the gloom, 1 Whimbrel flew over, 1 Willow Warbler, a few Chiffchaffs and Sedge Warblers, 3+ Wheatears, 1 Common Sandpiper and a Spotted Flycatcher were the total, the latter looking incongruous catching sand flies in the fog on beach rocks. 

Quite a few waders were just about visible with 35+ Turnstone, 50+ Sanderling, 10+ Dunlin, 40+ Ringed Plover fed well up the beach.

Apologies for the Spotted Fly image, its about 5000 ISO!

Back home, in the evening we were just about to head out to the Village Hall coronation 'do' when Dan found a cracking adult male Red backed Shrike in the fog on Seaton Point ( in the Fieldfare bushes no less). It had just arrived. Usually they are day migrants so I pencilled in a morning appointment with the Butcher bird...

Bank Holiday Monday...

Solid lash all day. Brilliant. At least visibility was better but the whole thing was a right off really.

Still, I popped down to see the Shrike and got a soaking for it. When I arrived, a Togger was right up into the bush, forcing the shrike to sit out in an oilseed rape field. Luckily him and his two buddies soon left. They probably heard me bleating on about bloody toggers no wonder the bird was out in the field!

Even in the rain, the Red backed Shrike was still a stunner. An oft used misinterpretation, but in this case the combo of pale rose cream breast, lavender grey hood and fox red back and wings offset with highlights of black bandit mask and black and white tail was the definition of the word. Wow. Its years since I've seen a male RBS, most of our birds being autumn juveniles.

 While watching it, Dan called that he had the Garganey tracking up the coast from Whitley Bay. A site mega but I only had my bins so couldn't tell it from its three Common Scoter fellow travellers.

Male Red backed Shrike, Boulmer.

I took Tuesday as a holiday. An offer to go out drawing with excellent artist,   Paul Henery was not to be sniffed at. I could learn a lot from him. The sun was shining and warm when we met up at Boulmer to revisit the shrike in better light. What a treat, if it was a stunner yesterday, today it looked and performed even better. It came quite close to us along the fence line where it caught beetles and St Mark's Flies. When resting it would have a bit of a sing, a chattery Sedgie type of song that sounded quite pleasant.  

A few digi scoped phone shots, with haze, but what a bird... 

From Boulmer we went to East Chevington via a short lunch stop at Warkworth to check the Beal Bank flash. Its almost dry and the only thing of note was a lone Avocet sweeping through the mud.

Chev was typically full of interest and not all good! We were busy sketching a male Marsh Harrier that was sat in a hawthorn when a chap came around the corner. He was quite hurried and said....

no lie... 'Is the Skah-oop still showing?' Paul and myself paused for a second wondering what on earth he was on about when it dawned on me. I replied 'Sorry mate, I've no idea if there is a Scaup here, I've not really looked yet'. Skah-oop? or maybe Ska-oup but either way it was a double barrelled single syllable name that's for sure! Certainly a new one on me.

A quick scan revealed the said drake Scah-oop ( just to clarify if any none birders are reading, its pronounced 'Scorp'  not even Skowp let alone Ska-oop). If you are the person in question, apologies but come on...

From the south end viewing spot were a pair of Marsh Harrier, a drake Scaup with a drake Pochard and a few Tufted Ducks, 2 imm drake Goldeneye still, a singing Cetti's Warbler and plenty of Reed Warblers singing too.

All too soon it was 4pm and time for home. A grand day out.

Paul getting some lines down...

Top - Tuesdays sketch and bottom the bird on Monday in rain. 

A short clip of the King of the Bank Holiday....

Small shrike...

While we were watching the Bonaparte's Gull on Sunday, new came through of a non -grey shrike at Newbiggin down on the beach behind Church Point caravan site ( exactly the same spot as the White spotted Bluethroat in the spring).

Tongues wagged metaphorically over the social media hoping against hope that at this very late time of year it might be a Brown Shrike. Alas, it was not to be, the finder Alan Priest, had it nailed with photos as a juvenile Red-backed Shrike. Stand down, panic over. Still, an amazing record, the latest ever in the county though I do remember one in December at Hunstanton some years ago.

Monday morning at work, I happened to have an appointment at Newbiggin ( well I would wouldnt I) so dropped in for 10 minutes to see the bird. I havent seen a Red backed Shrike for ages, so it was areall pleasure to watch this little chunky predator fly catching from weeds on the land slipped eroded parts just behind the beach.

They are much smaller that you you remember and this one was hunched up with wings drooped looking very sorry for itself. Food at this time is very hard to come by for a bird like this so the local Robin had better watch out.

As the sun shone, the shrike looked golden and blended perfectly with the golden leaves of reedmace and willowherb. Lets hope its soon back on the proper route south before winter really kicks in... 

Dire phone scoped image...

Some birds at last.

During the week I visited Cley East Bank, Kelling Water Meadow and Salthouse Little Eye quite regularly. The highlights were 26 Little Stints in one flock, 6 Spotted Redshanks, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 4 Greenshanks, 200 Black tailed Godwits, 3+ Arctic Skuas, 1 Juv Red backed Shrike, 55+ Pintail, sev Avocets, up to 7 Marsh Harriers together, 1 male Bearded Tit and 4+ singing Cetti's Warblers (all unseen despite hours trying).

Red Bike.

On a moderate westerly wind with clear sky, Julie Roper and Winnie Banks found a nice juv Red backed Shrike in the gorse near Sea Houses Farm, Howick. Unlucky for me, this is just outside my Boulmer patch, but within eyesight of it. The bird was quite flighty and remained in cover for quite long periods. I wonder if it was left over from last weeks fall?

Nearby the highlight at Boulmer was a Curlew Sandpiper and 3 Yellow Wagtails. 2 Lesser White throats were in the golfcourse scrub.

Changing the subject slightly, Andy sent me a message last night telling me that the roaming White Pelican was at East Chevington. As we were nearby at Morwick Ice cream shop we decided to pay it a visit. It was roosting on the middle island, looking like a cross between a spoonbill and an abandoned fridge. It lifted its huge bill out once to yawn ( terrifying a cormorant nearby) before getting back to sleep.

This morning we had it soaring over the south pool at Chevington dwarfing everything else nearby before drifting out of sight towards Hauxley.

Could it be a wild bird? It has apparently been to Holland in May, then Germany, back to Holland, Norfolk, Lancashire and Teesside before ending up here. See the May issue of Birding World for a photo.

I enjoyed it where ever it came from!