4th May 2024
A Woodchat Shrike had been found at Rainham Marshes on the 2nd May and was favouring the brambles between the toilet block and the Butt's Hide. I waited until the weather improved and went down on Saturday 4th May and joined the 40-strong queue waiting for the reserve to open, although I had expected a crowd of 100+ for such a bird. The gates opened and we all trekked single file round to the Butt's Hide where John Humble was doing a fantastic job of crowd control. So now it was just a matter of waiting for the bird to show.
However, as often happens in such circumstances, there was a support act which today was three Hobbys hawking insects overhead which provided a bit of entertainment.
The shrike was favouring the brambles on the hide side of the path and therefore you were looking into the sun a bit, so for the best shots it was a matter of waiting for a couple of hours until the sun had gone round a bit. Here is a selection of shots with the bird perched.
The bird was being very successful at catching quite large insects and I therefore expected the bird to stay for a few days.
Well, what a great day and great to see so many familiar faces, and nice to have a catch-up with Rebekah W.
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