Isabelline Shrike Sp. at Thurlestone

Since returning from holiday it has been fairly busy with work, family, tidying up, sorting out, catching up, etc., but there was light at the end of the tunnel with our annual Brittany Ferry trip to Roscoff in France on October 12th to keep us going. However Storm Callum decided to appear in the early hours of the morning of the 12th and it was not until 16:30 that afternoon that we were informed that our 22:00hr ferry was cancelled. We were offered the opportunity to board the ferry as scheduled at 22:00hrs on the 12th but would not sail until 11:00hrs the next morning on the 13th, meaning a 13 hour stay on board the ferry in Plymouth Docks, and on arriving in Roscoff at 18:00hrs on the 13th we would just have time for dinner and a nights sleep at our hotel before returning on the ferry the next morning at 09:15hrs - needless to say we cancelled the trip.

The weather remained very windy on the 13th and the morning of the 14th was very wet but by lunchtime it was clearing up and so we drove out to Thurlestone to look for the reported Isabelline Shrike and to have a spot of lunch.

We soon found the scrubby area between the golf course and the coast path where the shrike has taken up residence and quickly spotted it perched on vegetation being admired by a bevy of birders. It gave some good if mostly distant views as it actively fed on bees and flies buzzing around the bushes, being very mobile and regularly disappearing from sight amongst the scrub before reappearing elsewhere a short time later. It often perched openly and did the lovely shrike thing of circling its rufous toned tail around while scanning about and then dashing off - a very lovely bird with much better views than I had of one at nearby South Huish Marsh back in 2015 and I managed to get a few record shots too.

 Isabelline Shrike

 Isabelline Shrike 

 Isabelline Shrike 

 Isabelline Shrike 

 Isabelline Shrike 

 Isabelline Shrike 

 Isabelline Shrike 

 Isabelline Shrike 

Isabelline Shrike 

I watched it for a while before we headed back to the pub in Thurlestone village for some lunch and then home - a pleasant day out and some good (and easy) views of a cracking bird. If only more birding trips were as easy - although the birds actual ID of either Turkestan- or Daurian Shrike is proving not so straight forward.