5th April 2023: Blackdown

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 Our 20th anniversary today, and what better way to celebrate than with a birdwatching trip! It’s a long while since we visited Blackdown, but with rumours of a Great Grey Shrike off we went.

This heathland habitat does not have a great diversity of species, but Tim had good views of a Dartford Warbler and I had a decent Siskin perched in a tree, which unfortunately disappeared before Tim arrived on the scene. We heard calling Woodlarks but frustratingly were unable to locate these. We searched a long time for the Great Grey Shrike without success, despite it being reported while we were on site, but the Heath covers quite a large area.

In the end we gave up and walked up a lane to arrive at a different part of the Heath. And lo and behold, there perched on top of a bush was the elusive shrike! We watched for a few minutes and I could see it had a lizard in its mouth before it dropped down out of sight just as I got my scope on it. However, Tim was keen for a photo, so after patiently waiting for several minutes it reappeared in exactly the same spot.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Great Grey Shrike




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