A great grey shrike has been reported on a regular basis between Wistow and Cawood. I have been twice but did not manage to see it. I had about 4 hours to spare today so I decided to try again.
There was still some mist above some of the fields when I arrived.
The water on the pond was still frozen
I joined 2 other birders who were on the river bank
No sign of the shrike, and I spent about an hour walking up and down, stopping to scan the hedges and tree tops. I then walked back to the road and walked towards where I had been on my second visit. No sign of a shrike. I visited a little copse of trees and disturbed 2 tawny owls. On my way back to the car I saw a little egret in the distance. I met 2 more birders when I reached my car, but neither had seen the shrike. So I slowly drove back along the lane and stopped where people had been standing on my second visit. I scanned the hedgerows and tree tops and saw a light coloured bird in the top of a tree. I got my telescope out and even though it was a fair distance away, there was no mistaking the shape etc. A great gey shrike, number 86 on the list for this year.
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