Shrike Me Down - 13th August 2026

Unable to curb my continued enthusiasm for the Long tailed Shrike that is now into its fourth week of residence  on Eastleach Downs, I returned for another evening of watching and photographing this rare visitor and enjoying the rural surrounds it has chosen to frequent.

In fact I can say without doubt the pleasure of walking on Eastleach Downs is just as much an incentive to visit as is the shrike. It has revived all sorts of pleasant memories from when I worked nearby in Fairford and would come here to run along the lanes for miles to keep body and soul together.It has been a long time since I did that and to return has been akin to rediscovering a long lost friend. 

As per usual on my visits I  took the bridleway from the Oxfordshire end, planning to walk its relatively short length to where it joined another narrow road, this time in Gloucestershire.The day had been uncomfortably hot, in the high thirties and I left it until 6pm before arriving.The sun although still strong was slowly waning as was the heat haze and soon it would be gone with the light becoming soft rather than harsh.All the while a stiff but warm northwest breeze did its best to render the temperature tolerable.

Approaching the boundary between the two  counties about half way along the bridleway, marked by a drystone wall and a bramble hedge, instead of the customary gaggle of birders/photographers I saw precisely no one.There was no obvious sign of the shrike either so I was going to have to locate it by myself but I knew it was here as it had been reported throughout the day and I confess to rejoicing that I was here alone.

Eastleach Downs showing the hedge that marks the border with Oxfordshire
beyond and the bridleway and shrike favoured bushes on extreme right of the
picture

Reaching the Gloucestershire end of the bridleway I stopped to scan back along the now very much flattened bridleway track, its unwavering course downtrodden by the many feet belonging to almost exclusively birders, photographers and the plain curious, that have all made a pilgrimage to see this now nationally famous bird.

The shrike, born last year is now undergoing its annual moult into adult plumage but still has a way to go before its moult is complete but undoubtedly looks a lot more svelte than it did in days past.Its moult has been relatively rapid but some wing and tail feathers are still to reach their full length or be replaced so it will presumably remain for a while yet. Today it has been here for a total of 26 days but was first noticed 11 days earlier before briefly disappearing so I suppose one can say in total it has been around Eastleach Downs for 33 days.

For half an hour I saw little apart from a lone Whinchat perched high on a bramble spray, flying up to snatch passing insects and three juvenile Northern Wheatears perched on various of the stone walls.I positioned myself so I could scan down the length of the bridleway to the drystone wall marking the county boundary but I still could see nothing apart from a couple of Common Whitethroats and some Goldfinches

Then on the edge of a hawthorn tree above the bridleway a  pale breast shone in the sun and there was the shrike, having appeared from I knew not where and surveying the ground below for prey,

It perched there for quite a while but finally descended to the ground although unsuccessful in capturing whatever had caught its eye and returned to a wild briar, perching amongst the orange haws and shiny green leaves whilst being buffeted by the strong breeze causing it to brace itself on sturdy legs and employ its long tail as a counterbalance to remain on its thorny perch

The buffeting eventually proved too troublesome and inconvenient and it flew to a stricken elder that had seen better days, much of what remained of its brittle presence appearing to be a mesh of dead branches but providing just what the shrike required as a perch.  

From here it flew down to seize a grasshopper before returning with its victim to consume it after carefully removing its legs and swallowing it whole.

It then resumed its vigil from the elder despite the troublesome wind continuing to cause it some discomfort and despite adjusting its position it found the struggle unequal and moved elsewhere

 

The shrike moults its tail symmetrically commencing with the central
pair and then moving outwards.The above three images clearly show
new black central tail feathers almost fully grown and the graduated
feathers of its tail, the outer ones still to be renewed

It stuck to  its hunting modus operandi throughout, regularly flying down to seize something it had seen. On one occasion it attempted to tackle a Dunnock but the smaller bird managed to flee before the shrike could pounce. Its eyesight must be phenomenal as it often flew  quite a distance by means of a long glide from its elevated perch to seize a grasshopper or beetle on the ground..

You can hardly call it a hedge but here are a couple of trees which the shrike
hunted from with the bridleway running below

I gently and cautiously followed the shrike as it moved to various perches and it allowed me to get much closer than on previous visits. I like to think this was because, for a long period, I was entirely on my own, only being joined by one other birder after about an hour into my stay..

The shrike perched exclusively in the bushes and trees alongside the bridleway and caught its prey from the fringes of the adjacent setaside field in which I stood..

Half way through my visit it indulged in an extensive preening session, paying particular attention to its belly and flight feathers, its tail being still in active moult as are some of its flight feathers. Once satisfied all was well with its plumage it was back to business looking for sustenance

The golden hour arrived somewhere round 7pm with the sun casting a warm orange glow across the land and the shrike perched contentedly on the edge of a hawthorn tree. A calm seemed to descend and the world fell quiet.

A sudden commotion of anxious calling from two Kestrels behind me broke the spell, the cause of their concern being a female Sparrowhawk that crash landed in the hawthorn presumably in a failed attempt to seize the shrike. Not unnaturally this precipitated the shrike's rapid departure into the centre of the tree and out the other side, unseen by the Sparrowhawk. A close but thankfully non fatal encounter.

After the Sparrowhawk went on its way I waited some minutes but knew the shrike was unlikely to return and risk exposing itself, so reluctantly had to accept this evening's audience with the shrike had come to a close and made my way back along the bridleway to my car.

My now customary pint of cider and two packets of plain crisps in The Fox at Great Barrington brought the day to a more than acceptable conclusion..

I have a feeling this will only end once the shrike departs.