Lesser Grey Shrike, Whitby

 

The hedge that it favoured, uncut pic

Coughing up a pellet

Up at the crack of dawn and off to Whitby for the lesser grey shrike. Not a new bird for us but a stonking bird all the same. Soon parked and off up the path to look for the bird which we had been told had just flown along a distant hedge.  Simon soon picked the bird up on the wires which it seemed to favour, occasionally dropping down into the field. We had the shrike to ourselves and it did start to work its way closer along the wires. But the crowd soon arrived and the shrike got further away. 

In hindsight, we wished we had gone later in the day as the bee-eaters that came into roost near the Abbey the previous day, returned again in the evening. Oh well, happy with our day and drove back home over the moors adding red grouse to our year list. 

Lesser Grey Shrike, Horsey, Norfolk

Have put off going for this shrike for a few days due to the monsoon weather we are having at the moment and me decorating the living room. After half an hour, I was wishing I hadn't started !  But, job done and brushes put away for a few years ! The rain was relentless on our journey with fields under water....is it really summer? The shrike was distant when we arrived, and seemed to move further away along the fence line until disappearing only to turn up on the fence infront of us. The rain did stop for a couple of hours but the heavens opened yet again as soon as we got back to the car...lucky !  Excellent views and a new UK bird added to Karen's list which now stands at 410. 

And a few more Georgia birds

Caucasian Black Grouse - Very distant and very high up !
Digiscoped images. A new bird for most on the trip. 

Caucasian Mountain Chiffchaff 

Caucasian Snowcock  - digiscoped image. 

This was that high up on the mountain it nearly had altitude sickness!
I wouldn't normally post such a poor quality image but this was a mega new bird.

Corn Bunting 

Cuckoo 

Honey Buzzards - the raptor migration was quite spectacular 

Laughing Doves in the local park in Tblisi 

Eastern Imperial Eagle 

Lesser Grey Shrike

Red Backed Shrike 

Ring Ouzel 

Rock Bunting 

Rose Coloured Starling - we saw flocks of these, 100's of them wherever we went.

Would like to have photographed this one but our guide had other thoughts, saying he couldn't wait for it to turn round and simply walked towards it and flushed it.