A Woodchat Shrike at Rainham Marshes

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.

Because of the extensive area of white above the bill and around the eye I believe this bird to be a female.

The bird was being very successful at catching quite large insects and I therefore expected the bird to stay for a few days. 

However, we now know that it departed that night, although of cause it could still be present in one of the inaccessible parts of the reserve.

Also managed to grab a couple of flight shots.

Well, what a great day and great to see so many familiar faces, and nice to have a catch-up with Rebekah W.