There's No Place Like Holme

12th November 2013

No, not Holme-Next-Sea in Norfolk but Holme in Cambridgeshire. This was my destination today to try and photograph the Great Grey Shrike that has been in the area for several days, and on a couple of occasions had come fairly close. When I arrived the law according to Sod reared its ugly head as the bird had disappeared and hadn't been seen for an hour.

So I joined a couple of other hopefuls on the grass verge of the amazingly straight and busy B660 Long Drove, waiting for the shrike to re-appear. Luckily, there were some other distractions to pass the time like this flock of 20 Fieldfare that chucked their way past, close enough for a shot of this individual.

At that point, all the birds in the area got up and flew around in a panic and the cause was soon apparent. A male Sparrowhawk was circling around looking for a lunch opportunity and as luck would have it, it carried out a couple of loops around our heads. Why can't all birds of prey be that cooperative?

But then, the moment we had all been waiting for. The shrike had emerged from hiding and was back on some nearby power lines. At first it was a couple of hundred yards away, but eventually moved closer, glinting in the sun. Not as close as I would have liked and possibly not as close as reported yesterday, but a couple of nice shots nevertheless. Another one for the "another day" list.