A Consolation Twitch

I was pretty gutted not to have been able to go and see the Eastern Crowned Warbler on Friday or Saturday, due to work. Today I was free but was also pretty certain the bird wouldn't be there for a fourth day so didn't bother going. It wasn't. Instead I went over to Stanwell Moor, Surrey to see the Brown Shrike, which has obligingly stayed put for a whole two weeks now. Bun kindly accompanied me, even though he'd already been to see it earlier in the week ( I wish I worked for Beer Parish Council ;-) ) We arrived there just after first light and one of our first sightings was a flock of around a hundred Ring-necked Parakeets, the first ones I've ever seen; we saw and heard loads more during our visit too. I think they're superb, noisy yes, but a noise preferable to the constant drone of the motorway traffic and airplanes which is prevalent in the area. They certainly brighten the place up! On arrival Bun spotted the Brown Shrike almost immediately, it was always quite distant but not too distant for great scope views. I attempted a few photos but it was difficult due to the distance involved and the bird often perching in front of foliage, thus making focusing very tricky. It did sit out on the end of a twig a couple of times though allowing a couple of okay attempts. It wasn't all good news today though, because whilst walking back to the car I somehow managed to drop my scope (yes, again!) and inflicted another massive dent on it. It seems to be working okay at the moment though. Fingers crossed!

Staines Moor. The Shrike was showing on the bushes in the distance and to the right of the river.

There were still plenty of birders coming to see it even after two weeks; there were around 20 or so when we left, with more arriving!

A typical Staines Moor Brown Shrike photo,

exactly like most of the others you'll see on the web.

 I tried a closer shot, the sky behind helped, but the great distance means that there's no depth of field whatsoever! More like a painting. Mind you, I like it. :-)