Steppe Grey Shrike at Grainthorpe Haven, November 20, 2008

Since November 7, 2008 (and possibly as early as late September) this bird had been present here. On November 20, after two weeks of indecision (it was a long way to go and the bird might have gone), I made the three-hour cross-country journey to the Lincolnshire coast to see it. This is the subspecies (pallidirostris) of the Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis) and is sometimes included within it. It is normally only found in central Asia and is extremely rare anywhere to the west of the Caspian Sea and Afghanistan. The bird was therefore well off course and, even if placed under Southern Grey Shrike, it was still only the twentieth record for the British Isles.



Apparently a first-winter bird, it had taken up residence in flat, open farmland about a half mile from the sea. It seemed to restrict itself to a very small 'territory' of about 100 metres diameter which included a freshly ploughed field (lots of worms), a scattered hawthorn hedge, and an adjacent farm track and drainage dyke. Whilst it was an exceptionally friendly bird, it would only stay in one place for a minute or so before flying off a short distance and perching. Then it would return to another part of the ploughed field and continue feeding. At other times it perched on a footpath signpost and on one occasion on someone's telescope and tripod whilst the owner sat resting beside it. Often, seemingly curious, it would deliberately come up to people (even to within 2-3 metres) and then suddenly fly off elsewhere. I kept thinking that was going to be my last sight of it for the day but it always came back within a very few minutes. It had no fear of humans whatsoever and, possibly, it had never even seen any before. There were so many worms on the ploughed land that it never needed to exhibit the typical shrike habit of perching at a vantage point and watching for prey. In its antics it seemed almost human.






It was a beautifully, fresh-plumaged bird (especially so considering it had travelled so far). Its head seemed slightly browner and its overall colouration much lighter and the wing markings were different to those of the Great Grey Shrike. It had a pale, horn-coloured bill (pallidirostris) which helped to separate it from the nominate Southern Grey Shrike. There was a stiff breeze blowing and its feathers were often ruffled. Up to ten people were watching at any one time with others coming and going. The bird showed not the slightest fear.



Three days after my visit it had gone with reports that a Sparrowhawk had been seen in the area and feathers found nearby. These had been collected and sent to the BTO. Happily, it was later confirmed that these were definitely not from a Shrike but had been bitten off by a fox, not plucked by a bird of prey. So, there was a satisfactory ending to its visit after all. According to Lefranc and Worfolk’s book ‘Shrikes’ (which gives a description and illustration), the Steppe Grey Shrike is nowadays being seen more frequently in Europe.