Drop everything (AGAIN!) there is a Turkestan Shrike up north!!

   

 

I was toying with the idea of doing some seabird watching down in Cornwall this week. There have numerous reports of early rarer Shearwaters, mainly Sooty and Cory’s, being pushed towards the coast by strong south or south westerly winds. I was hence eyeing Wednesday for a possible trip down to the Porthgwarra headland for a day staring out to sea through my scope.

 

Everything changed when at 14:20 yesterday a mega rare Turkestan Shrike was relocated near Bempton Cliffs RSPB reserve in Yorkshire.  It had initial been seen by the finder mid-afternoon on Monday near the cliff tops. It was very wet and had presumably just flown in off the sea perching on the first bit of dry land it found. The finder managed a few good pics before it flew off inland, disappeared and could not be relocated. Fast forward to Tuesday when it was re-found inland on a track near a pig farm along cliff lane near Bempton.

 

I became aware of it when I checked RBA around 15:30 and a plan was quickly hatched. If I left by 16:00 I should, depending on the traffic, be there by 19:30 giving 2 hours or so to see it before sunset. The backup plan, if I was badly delayed on route or if it had gone AWOL , was to either sleep in the car or find some cheap lodgings and try to see it the following  morning. As expected at this time of day, I ran into several traffic delays and the ETA on the shat (sic) nav varied between 19:30 and 20:00. As I got closer the traffic started to clear and I was soon parking on site at 19:30.

 

The taxonomy of the Isabelline Shrike complex was reviewed in 2000 and a decision was taken to split it into three distinct species. 

 

Firstly, the Durian Shrike, a generally greyish bird with only a faint or entirely absence supercilium.  It has an extensive breeding range from the Caspian Sea through to central China.

 

Secondly, the Turkestan Shrike which as an adult differs from the Durian Shrike in having a rufous crown, nape and hind-neck and a prominent white supercilium. It breeds in south Siberia and central Asia.

 

Finally, the Chinese Shrike, the palest form and, being a short distance migrant, highly unlikely (but never say never!) to arrive in Western Europe.

 

Up to the end of 2019 there had been 10 records of the Durian Shrike in the UK ,7 of the Turkestan Shrike and none of the Chinese shrike.

 

After a  somewhat nervous ten minute walk down a well made-up  track I spied maybe 30 birders looking at a distant bush and, sure enough, there was the Shrike. I’ve said it before that, unlike for instance a rare leaf warbler, Shrikes are normally immediately obvious if present as the generally perch high up on a suitable branch scanning their surrounds for insects.  I must confess I like shrikes; they are quite small but can be incredible aggressive taking the occasional bird not much smaller than them. Its distinctive rusty brown crown and rufous red tail were immediately obvious making it, to my eyes at least, a very visually stunning bird. After maybe 20 minutes it flew along the hedge line towards us and started hawking for insects from some dead twigs proving good photographic opportunities. As the time approached 21:00 the light started to fade and I joined the majority of other birders in departing with the very satisfy feeling that comes from a successful twitch and a new UK life tick.

  

 

I have now seen 7 of the 9 Shrike species on the UK list, namely Great Grey, Lesser Grey, Red-backed, Woodchat, Brown, Durian, and Turkestan. I’m just lacking Masked and Long tailed, both extremely rare birds with 5 and  1 records respectively. A juvenile Masked stayed in Kent for 2 days in October 2020, I can’t remember why I didn’t go but I now wish I had!