SIZEWELL SHRIKE

   The reports said that along with a Red Flanked Bluetail there was also a Great Grey Shrike in the area so after parking at the seafront I walked south on the lookout for these visitors. The footpath rose up onto the cliffs where I found somebody who asked me if I had seen the Great Grey Shrike that was supposed to be in the vicinity as he couldn't find it. With out much confidence I walked on another few hundred yards and after seeing nothing turned round and thought I would go and look for the Bluetail. Immediately I could see the Great Grey Shrike sitting high up in a bush on a bare twig as they often do. Leaving the path I gradually made my way over to the bird who didn't seem at all bothered by my presence and so with the sun behind me I started to take some photos as the Shrike hunted for insects which it would to return to the top of the bush and consume. At one point the bird caught a wasp when I managed to get these two pictures.

   Eventually some other photographers turned up and tried to get very close to the Shrike which resulted in the bird being spooked and flying over my head to the end of the field. With the departure of those I joined another photographer and together we walked to the end of the field in the attempt to relocate the bird which we did when we found it lower down amongst the leaves in a small tree. We approached to within 20 yards where we waited for the bird to resume hunting but after 30 minutes or so we were beginning to think that nothing was going to happen or that we were too close and were disturbing it when all at once the Shrike swooped down to the ground and disappeared from view. After a minute or so we approached where the bird went down but couldn't see anything, but then the Shrike flew up into a dense area of the tree and appeared to have something in its beak. I hastily snapped off a few shots before the bird hopped into a thick Hawthorn hedge and disappeared. Looking at the picture I could see that the Shrike had caught a bird and with a meal of that size was unlikely to show again for a while. Below is a poor photo of the Shrike with its prey which I think is a Dunnock.

   It is not at all unusual for the Great Grey Shrike to take small birds as well as lizards and insects and indeed is also known as the 'butcher bird' for its habit of impaling larger prey items on thorns for storage after it has eaten its fill. This species of Shrike which is also the largest found in Europe doesn't breed in this country but quite often winters here and indeed there are reports of several birds around at the moment.