Not Long Now -22nd August 2026

My favourite shrike, now present for 43 days, lured me out one more time to its favoured raggle taggle line of brambles and hawthorns skirting the ancient bridleway that crosses Eastleach Downs from east to west.

Louise, a colleague on our twitching WhatsApp group who lives on the outskirts of London had booked herself into a hotel at nearby Lechlade in order to pay homage to the shrike this weekend so we arranged to meet at the shrike and after a brief morning visit I went home for some lunch before  returning mid afternoon so the two of us could enjoy the shrike and take far too many photographs.

The shrike has, as far as I can see completed its moult and truly looks a picture. So very different from my first encounter when it was just commencing its moult and looking decidedly scruffy.

Its behaviour has also changed and it largely now confines itself to the hedgerow in the close vicinity of the bridleway and I suppose having become familiar with the constant stream of admirers, many like me returning multiple times to take advantage of this unique opportunity, has become rather confiding.

We gently and discreetly followed in its wake as it moved at regular intervals along the hedgerow, flying out to collect an assorted variety of prey from the ground and returning to the hedgerow to consume it.

As the afternoon wore on and the number of birders grew less, both us and the shrike gained confidence in each other as we progressed along the hedgeline towards the border with Oxfordshire. The shrike moved from various elevated perches, at one point in a bare elder being escorted by half a dozen Common Whitethroats and a female Redstart that seemed fascinated by its latent threat, like moths drawn to a flame but they had better be wary as the shrike would readily predate one of their number given the chance.

There were other birds milling around uneasily in the hedge too, their routine upset by the shrike's presence. A Lesser Whitethroat and a scruffy moulting male Yellowhammer emerged from the depths of the hedgerow as did half a dozen Corn Buntings.

Lesser Whitethroat

Yellowhammer

The shrike reached the hedge that marks the boundary between Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire and perched there, flying down onto the bridleway at intervals to seize anything that caught its eye.

 It appeared to favour this small area presumably because there was a good number of potential victims. 

A fellow birder then had a brainwave and said 

Why don't we get some grasshoppers and throw them on that flattened area of the bridleway to attract the shrike onto the ground as it seems to have taken a fancy to that particular spot

A search of the set-aside we were stood in soon revealed any number of grasshoppers.and grabbing one or two we returned to the bridleway and threw them onto the now much flattened grass. The shrike's phenomenal vision would have no difficulty in picking them out and it worked like a charm.We backed off and the shrike duly flew down to seize them. 

I never thought in my wildest dreams we would be feeding the shrike with grasshoppers we found in the set-aside.But here we were doing just that and thoroughly enjoying it and I like to think so was the shrike. Mind, you had to be quick with the camera as it did not hang about but just occasionally it lingered long enough to get a photo of it on the ground.

We tired of searching for grasshoppers and the shrike too seemed disinterested in co operating further and remained perched on top of the hedge but then to our utter amazement flew directly towards us to perch not more than four metres away, remaining there for a long spell above us, totally unperturbed by our presence. Unbelievable

A golden hour between 6 and 7pm had now arrived when the already pale gold of the harvested fields is enriched with a deeper shade of gold and the outline of trees and bushes softens with the declining harshness of the sun.This was my cue to leave. I could do no more, a surfeit of images on my memory card and an abundance of pleasant memories were mine to take away as I slowly walked back along the bridleway, ruminating on the shrike and its future

When will it depart now that its moult is complete? It surely cannot remain here during our winter but currently our weather now and for the foreseeable future is surely not too dissimilar to its normal wintering grounds in southeast Asia. Will the current endless sun and warmth persuade it to linger and only move when the weather changes which does not look remotely imminent.

If it does depart will it head south to southern Europe, even Africa or try and re-orientate to its normal wintering areas in southeast Asia? What do vagrant birds such as this do? Are they lost forever in a strange alien environment or do they attempt to return to their normal home? 

All these thoughts coursed through my mind as I walked slowly and contemplatively back to the quiet country lane where my car was parked. A wheatear bobbed up onto the drystone wall to my right,  its tail slowly moving down then up as it eyeballed me. A Spotted Flycatcher swooped after an insect high up in the trees by the lane. A Pheasant crowed.  

A Robin was singing quietly by the gamekeeper's lodge and chicken run as I gained the lane. A sure sign the season is slowly changing. 

It will not be long now or will it?