Steppe Grey Shrike and Pallas s Warbler
Two days, two talks and two birds
We started by giving a talk on The Biggest Twitch to the Chester & District Ornithological Society. They were a great audience who seemed to thoroughly enjoy the photos we included of the birds, places and people we'd encountered on our Big Year, and our tales of the adventures we'd had on the way.
The next day we were giving another talk on The Biggest Twitch, this time to the Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithological Society down in Oadby. A quick look at the map showed that we wouldn't be making much of a detour to look for the Steppe Grey Shrike on the way, and we quickly found ourselves heading down a quiet lane not far from Telford signposted The Wall. We parked in the field car park and followed the muddy footpath out to where we could see a line of birders with scopes.
We checked where they were looking and scanned the hedgerows, and there it was, perched up in full view on top of a bush: Steppe Grey Shrike!
Clear, if distant, views of the Steppe Grey Shrike
We watched this handsome bird flitting about the hedgerow, catching sight of a tasty insect and chasing down a meal before zooming back up on top of the bush again. Unfortunately for us and the other Shrike-watchers, the bird steadily worked its way along the hedgerow further away from us, but having started with clear views, we certainly couldn't complain.
At last, we tore ourselves away and headed over to Leicestershire. After a delicious curry with John, Leigh and Dave, we gave our second talk on The Biggest Twitch in two days to a packed room. But as we always change our presentation slightly for every talk we give, to make sure that we keep it fresh, it was great fun to share our Twitch stories and images with such an appreciative audience.
The next morning with some Leicestershire birding in mind, we received an early morning phone call from Peter: a Pallas's Warbler showing on the Great Orme - now. This was hardly fair, a mega bird for our back garden when we were the other side of the country. Needless to say, our planned visit to Rutland Water didn't happen and we headed hotfoot back to North Wales. We got back to the Great Orme in time to join a group of birders staring intently at some bushes in a garden below the cemetery. A distinctive call, and the Pallas's Warbler flitted up into view. Phew! A nervous bird, it was constantly on the move through the bushes, but we caught great views in the sunshine of its prominent yellow supercilium and crown stripe.
Pallas's Warbler