This is the first of two blogs about a trip up to Yorkshire. I had two target birds, and both are worthy of a post on their own. Fortunately they were at the same place, Bempton cliffs, so the journey although long was easily combined into one with an overnight stay in Bridlington.
Leaving on Sunday early, about 4.15, and with little or no traffic I pulled into the RSPB car park around 8.15. A quick coffee and a bun and I was off. My first target was a lifer, a Turkestan or red-tailed shrike. Previously there was Isabelline shrike but then based on DNA and other features this was split into Daurian and Turkestan/ red-tailed. So, when this one was first seen at Bempton on the 27th June it created a big stir. Many people needed it for their life lists as many previous Isabelline records were not identified to the new species level. Initially it was a hard bird to see, being very distant, but then the local farmer, whose property it was on, granted access for £10. Although it was a 20-30 minute walk it made the bird ridiculously easy to see.
It took me only 25 minutes or so to fast-walk along Cliff Lane and get to the farm. A very friendly man extracted my £10 and showed me where the assembled crowd of a dozen or more were watching the bird in a hedge.
Someone immediately got me onto where the bird was, albeit slightly obscured in the hedge.
At this stage all I could see were a few light-coloured feathers, barely even recognisable as a bird. After a tense few minutes, as the view so far was certainly not tickable, it flew a short distance and showed itself in all its glory.
As you may expect from its name, this bird should be breeding in Central Asia having overwintered in northern India the Middle East or eastern Africa. So, it is very definitely lost. Like all shrikes it is carnivorous with a sharply hooked bill. It was also incredibly confiding. I presume the crowd today was relatively small but it showed no sense of wariness of people. This could easily be the first time it has really seen us close-up.
I watched it for an hour or so as it moved up and down the short length of hedge, catching insects on both the wing and the ground. It certainly wasn't going hungry. As the crowd was growing and I had my other target to go for I left it happily performing to its fans. Normally I would have stay longer but I knew I was coming back the following day as well.
So, move on to Monday morning and this time I came into the farm from the cliff path.
I met one other birder who said the shrike was in a distant hedge, not viewable. I thought about heading off for it but decided to carry-on to the farm and stake that out. A vey good call on many levels. Firstly, I was the only person there
Secondly, I only had to wait about 5 minutes before a light-coloured bird dropped into the hedge right opposite me. The shrike was sunning itself out in the open and I had it all to myself!
For 15 minutes or so it just chilled out in the morning sun without a care in the world. It certainly didn't care about the strange bloke with the camera.
It was one of those times when you just had to drink-in the moment. A mega rare bird, a lifer, perfect light, perfect angle and not another sole around.
Eventually it became a bit peckish and started catching insects which it took back to the hedge to dismember and eat. This one looked like a wasp of some sort thought its hard to tell anything apart from black-and-yellow.
In the flight shot you can see why its called a red-tailed shrike, that stands out really clearly from behind as do the white wing-bars.
The local tree-sparrows were mainly quite chilled about this stranger in their midst though occasionally they did seem to get a bit too close to it.
By now the farmers son had dropped by. I had a nice chat with him and he was generous enough let me off paying an additional £10 seeing as I had paid the day before. It shows how important it is to be pleasant and well-behaved when someone lets you on their land. Who knows what might drop in there next. Three more birders had now arrived and I got them onto the shrike which was still feeding happily in the hedge.
As I still had a very long drive home and it was getting hot I called it a day and headed off back via the cliffs. A superb couple of days and well worth the overnight stay. Don't forget, there is still another blog about my other top target bird to come!
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