Most months I read the Bulletin of the Derbyshire Ornithological Society which includes a summary of sightings in the County during the prior month. For some reason I failed to read the January Bulletin and was surprised when I read in the February Bulletin a report of a Great Grey Shrike on the 27th February on Bonsall Moor. Referring back to January the shrike was also seen on 23rd, 24th and 26th January.
I was interested in the sightings for two reasons, firstly it's a rare and striking bird and they are always nice to see but secondly I wondered if it could have been the Farley bird, I'd last seen on 17th December.
I planned a walk around the moor with Pam which included the two main tracks across the rough moor area, but taking in Bonsall village and Uppertown. We were heading back across the moor when a bird diving from the top of a tree caught my I, as I moved towards the area Pam called 'shrike on the top of the tree in front of you' and sure enough there it was. Even in brief views I could see the white in the secondaries which indicated that it was the Farley bird which showed characteristics of the eastern European race homeyeri.
It was very sunny which was causing quite a bit of heat haze but I managed a few photos which confirmed that it was indeed the Farley bird.
You can read my write-up on the racial identification of this bird here.
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| Great Grey Shrike showing features of the race homeyeri |
Hi Andy - glad that you saw it. Which end of Bonsall Moor was it? The northern end near Bonsall Lane, or the southern end towards Blakemere Lane track and Moor Lane?
ReplyDeleteIt's generally been seen in the area partially enclosed by the 90 degree bend on Leys Lane, but has also been seen the other side of the parking spot on the 90 degree bend towards the Via Gellia
ReplyDelete