Red-backed Shrike

It always seems to happen this way - I was sat far from any birding environment when I received a text message from Martin "15ft away from Tidemills Red-backed Shrike and light perfect". I was in mixed company at the time and my outburst was very restrained. Now this isn't always the direction of information; I had done the same when I was on "Elvis" on the Ythan Estuary and the message was pretty similar, and I am sure the response was too.

 Having missed the bird I was tempted to pay a visit the very next day. However, lurid tales of a large crowd of birders in attendance deterred me, especially when descriptions that people in full camouflage and veils were standing next to people in check shirts and other garish garb to obtain shots of an obliging bird. I decided to stick to Plan A and go to the North Wall to pick blackberries and sloes - an annual foraging festival.  On the wall I met Trevor and Ian and we all had a go at photographing the considerable flock of Yellow Wagtails that were following the cows in the fields below Honer Farm.

A message from Bart Ives had us scurrying out of the fields back on to the wall in search of an elusive Wryneck, which despite a couple of hours searching I failed to find. So back to the blackberrying, not BlackBerrying - as my spell checker would prefer.

Monday and the weather forecast wasn't good so we decided not to venture forth. Tuesday morning the weather was fair and when Martin picked me up we reckoned that a visit to Tidemills was in order. When we arrived I was surprised that no birders where present, mind you neither was the bird. I had just reached the point where I thought "it's gone" when it appeared and of course posed perfectly. Great to have it to ourselves for a while and at one stage the sun came out - the "crowd" peaked at five and we left happy.

We waited patiently for a "bee in the beak" shot but with the cooler weather they were not flying so much. Anyway, patience was rewarded with a "beetle in the beak" instead. Looks like a Devils Coach Horse, Ocypus olens - happy to be corrected.

I guess this is where it got rid of the indigestible bits.

 

Today was a fruitless trip around Pulborough Brooks, virtually no reward for our circumnavigation of the reserve, just a distant view of a Marsh Harrier and countless Canada Geese.

On to the North Wall where, at high tide, a host of birds where on Breech Pool - not for long. As the RSPB "gardeners" left in their bright blue van just about every bird decamped for the harbour.

This young chap/chapess was creating havoc amongst the wildfowl and waders but I got the impression it was just having fun rather than a serious hunt for food.

Nice to see the Wigeon back in good numbers, Pintail too.

Red-backed Shrike

As we drove to Rottingdean this morning I was sure that we were too late for the Red-backed Shrike. After all it had been around for four days, surely it must have gone. On the roadside only one vehicle was parked, not many birders about then. However, as we approached the location there was a single birder peering intently into the field, it was still here!! Then what followed was the most pleasant twitch that I have ever experienced, an obliging bird, perfect conditions and getting close to the subject. I hasten to add, for those birders that believe birders with cameras are demons, that in this case it was the bird that chose to come close to the photographer.

 

The bird fed happily all the time we were present, finding a plentiful supply of grasshoppers, bumble bees and sundry other unidentified insects. Even when several more birders turned up the bird remained content to feed from the wire fence some twenty yards distant.

On the wires were the usual suspects, Wheatears and Whinchats. One Whitethroat took exception to the close proximity of the RBS and made a comical half-hearted protest.

 

 

Nice to meet Paul and Bill on their local patch and thanks for the info on another possible bird close by.