Shrike Time - 25th August 2026

And still the shrike remains! Almost seven weeks!

This evening the Long tailed Shrike was particulary confiding, perching in his usual hawthorn by the bridleway and coming down to within feet of us to seize various insect prey he spotted in the withered grass.

I am convinced its behaviour undoubtedly had something to do with the fact there were only four or five of us present this evening and that we all stood back from the hedgerow, unlike the larger numbers that were here yesterday.

Incidentally there was a good selection of other birds in and around the hedgerow that marked the boundary between the two counties as I made my way to the shrike.

Whinchat 3

European Stonechat 1

Northern Wheatear 1

Common Redstart 1

Common Whitethroat 2

Corn Bunting 17

Yellowhammer 1

I stood quietly watching the shrike rather than taking too many more images which would only serve as duplicates of those I had taken on all my previous visits,.rather  I was waiting for the shrike to descend to the ground in order to try and get some images of it on the ground. It is not easy as you have to remain constantly alert due to having no idea when the shrike will spot a potential victim and decide to fly down and when it does happen is on the ground for seconds only before flying back to its perch.

The most interesting thing this evening was when the shrike caught what I think was a large moth, possibly a Silver Y and flew back to an elder to try and impale it on one of the many dead twigs or stems sticking out like bones from the elder but failed, due to the twigs not being sharp or thin enough.It made several abortive attempts to afix the moth to one of these but finally gave up and flew to its favourite hawthorn and had no trouble securing the moth to one of the many thorns in that tree.

I took a sequence of images from the moment the shrike flew towards the moth from its perch, landed on the ground to capture the moth and then subsequently attempted unsuccessfully to impale it on an elder stem. 

Mostly its diet this evening consisted of grasshoppers and the occasional beetle and he rarely had to move more than fifty metres in either direction from his favourite hawthorn occasionally visiting a bramble or elder bush.

Eventually the light began to fade and any thought of further photography was futile so I got chatting to two fellow birders and we became so engrossed in swapping stories of our various experiences that the shrike became almost forgotten, perched in another hawthorn near to four people sat on the ground who also seemed to have decided that photography was a lost cause. 

You can just make out the shrike in the hawthorn towards the top left of the image

As the evening drew in, a customary quiet crept over the land as the shrike remained watching for one last meal. 

A pair of Grey Partridges were a pleasant surprise as I made my way along the bridleway to my car

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 and 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 special hour between 6 and 7pm arrived with the declining harshness of the sun and the pale stubble of the harvested fields turned to gold and the outline of the trees and bushes softened .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 the adjacent chicken run as I gained the lane. A sure sign the season is changing. 

It will not be long now or will it?

24th  August

Bright and sunny with a strong but warm east wind. I made a short visit from 4 -5.30pm.The shrike caught grasshoppers and beetles and showed very well.

I Really must Stop 19th August 2026

After yesterday's dull cloudy weather the sun returned this afternoon but brought with it a strong westerly wind to keep the temperature on the low side.

I decided to return one more time to Eastleach not so much for the shrike but to try and bird the surrounding hedgerows and see what else I could find. Unlike my normal practice  where I go at around 6pm I arrived mid afternoon at 3pm to find quite a crowd looking for the shrike which I was informed had been missing for some time

The wind had increased since my arrival and was now gusting violently along the bridleway. Assuming any bird would seek shelter in the lee of the wind I scoped the long hedge that runs crossways across the bridleway and marks the border between Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire.

Sure enough I found that birds were indeed perched amongst the leaves and twigs on the leeside of the hedge, sheltered from the wind and enjoying the sun. A Corn Bunting, plump and fluffed up was sunk low on its perch, entirely out of the wind in a sun pocket formed by the leaves.Watching in my scope it closed its eye and drowsed.A picture of content. Scoping further along the hedge I came upon two Whinchats, a male and a juvenile, both perched low and out of the wind.The juvenile too was relaxed and making the most of the shelter.It stretched its wings and spread its tail revealing the symmetrical triangles of white at the tail base then began a long preening session.Soon it will be heading south so best to get everything in order before departure.

The shrike was still absent and people were wandering around at a loss what to do other than wait. Eventually it appeared on its favourite bramble clump and everyone was happy.I remained until 6.30 in the evening as the shrike was now never out of view and gave, yet again, some fabulous views and photo opportunities.There is nothing more I can add to what I have written before so instead here are some of the images I took of the shrike today.