Work had kept us pretty much in the North Wales area so we'd not been able to do much twitching. But since we were already in the southeast to give a talk on The Biggest Twitch, we of course took the opportunity to catch up with the very long-staying Brown Shrike at Staines Moor. Trusting that it wouldn't have decided to disappear on the very day we finally had a chance to see it, we followed the well-beaten muddy footpath around the edge of the George V reservoir, until it opened out onto a large, rough field with scattered hawthorn bushes and clumps of teazel. Luckily we quickly located the bird, sitting halfway up a hawthorn bush and enjoyed good views in the hazy sunshine as it constantly dropped to the ground after food and returned to its lofty perch. As we watched, the Brown Shrike flew across the small stream into another bush, where it was joined by two Green Woodpeckers, quite a colour combination in one small bush.Last year, we had watched this species in Malaysia, where it was considerably hotter and steamier than Surrey in December. But just to add to our memories of the East, a familiar exotic call was heard overhead, and we looked up to see a gang of Ring-necked Parakeets flying overhead.