Woodchat Shrike

This species has always eluded me. I have seen several abroad, but as yet, none in Britain, but with one showing not too far away, I decided to see if I could change that.

On arrival at the site the bird was not showing, no surprise there, but I set up my 'scope and waited. I was reliably informed by the other birders present that it would show soon and they even predicted the area it would appear. On cue the bird showed, right where it was supposed to, but it was a blooming long way away, as is shown by the shot below.

This was taken with my camera at full 140x zoom, so not the greatest shot you are ever likely to see. The red head can be seen though, with other plumage details and it looked great through a 'scope, honestly!

We waited to see if the bird would come any closer, not overly hopeful, but we kept our fingers crossed. The bird disappeared. After about 20 minutes it was seen flying in our direction, where it perched, still distant, but excellent views were had.

The shots below were taken with the camera at 35x zoom and are heavily cropped, so are really only record shots, but hopefully the bird can be seen in greater detail.

Woodchat Shrikes are migratory birds, spending their winters in tropical Africa and their summers in southern Europe or northern west Africa, but a few do turn up in the U.K. most years. Up until now, I have missed those birds, this one changed that.