Back on form. Red-Backed Shrike (Hayes)

It's just gone 10 o'clock on Friday night and I have had no word from Brian to meet up in the morning, so I think he's checked the weather for tomorrow and thought it's not going to be worth to much effort.



So off to bed about 12 o'clock thinking I would get a good night's sleep as I struggle to sleep properly if I have to get up early these days, now I have retired and don't need to get up for anything  like work it's not the norm , so it plays on my mind, funny really as I have never had a problem getting out of bed in the morning as my work time started before 4 o'clock each day, so it was early to bed early to rise, now it has turned around it's late to bed late to rise.



Anyway  at 3 am my dog decides she wants to go out and play with the fox's, so down I go leaving my wife sound asleep or so she said  when I told her in the morning. So there I am wide awake after standing  out in the rain making sure the dog  doesn't wake the neighbours when she bombs after the Foxes , she  never gets close to them before they are back over the fence but she See's them off, so I  dry off and back to bed I can't get back to sleep for ages, I must have just dropped off when I get a tap on the door, it's Jimmy do I want to go and get the Red-Back shrike at Hayes as Brian has just text him  telling him he can't sleep and  do we want to go.


Brian & Jimmy looking for the Shrike. 

So in no time at all we meet up with Brian, and drive about 45 minute's to Hayes, that is in Middlesex
We find it easy enough , as Brian saw the bird yesterday it was really nice of him to to bring us to see it today.
This bird was Brian's 249th for the year, he set himself a target of 250 so only one to go for him, he will sail past that target now, but still a big thing for him as he has never done that many  before.
I thought he would have gone to a place so he could reach his target , but he knew Jimmy & I needed the Shrike for a life tick so he thought of us first really nice of him.





 There are a few birders here already and although they had not seen it yet, they had been told it was about, so we start looking and inside 10 minute's the Red- Back Shrike was sitting on the side of a tree in full view.
I only have a small lens on my camera compared to most of the other guys there, but I get a sort of record shot of it as you can see,  although the view I had through the scope was fantastic.
I am really happy to get  a tick again as I have dipped out for the last 3 trips , and it is nice to get the list  on the move again.

Red-Back Shrike.
A bit blurry as I tried to crop it to get it a bit bigger.