An Isabelline Shrike at The Hythe

28th October 2016

I had only discovered the Hythe Lagoons at Colchester fairly recently and with a Lesser Yellowlegs in September and an Isabelline Shrike in October they are doing fairly well. I managed to get a few shots of the lesserlegs so thought I would try my luck with the shrike.

There was no problem in finding the bird as a dozen or so birders were tracking it as it moved back and forth along the line of bushes along the eastern bank of the main lagoon. Unfortunately, apart from a quick burst of sun, the light was fairly awful and the bird for most of the time kept a tantalising distance about 20 yards too far for the average lens. Anyway, that is the excuses out of the way, so how did I get on?

Well, for a start when it did come reasonably close it was very often obscured, in this instance by some colour-coordinated autumn foliage.

When against the sky, focusing was much easier, but lighting settings were critical

.........but against a darker background the colours were better. Overall fairly happy with the results but would have liked a second go in better light if it had stayed around.