[Birdbox]

Apparent Brown Shrike nr Staines - anyone throw light on this?

[marek_walford]

Only that it was reported as a Red-backed Shrike yesterday. It's at the north end of Staines Moor.

[London Birder]

Chris Heard has had a look and believes it's most probably a first-winter Brown Shrike, based mainly on primary projection and tail structure.

More than that I do not know at this stage.

[marek_walford]

Never been to Staines Moor. Where's the best place to park etc?

[David Callahan]

Now being mega'd by RBA!!

[Rare Bird Alert]

Breaking news from Rare Bird Alert: Brown Shrike in Surrey.

BBRC and IRBC stats from RBA's Previous Records Online:

There are 4 accepted records of Brown Shrike in Britain and 1 in Ireland.
There have been no published records for Surrey yet

RBA's Previous Records (new) has all the records and a wealth of stats and analysis for this and other rarities recorded in Britain and Ireland


Click here to see the location on the Free Rare Bird Map
Click here for information about Brown Shrike in the Opus. (Please feel free to contribute to this page)

[GXMegson]

Birdguides is giving grid ref as TQ 034-029, but on my map it looks like it should be TQ 034-729, just to the north-west of Staines town.
Good for anyone away when the Flamborough bird was showing, ie: me.

[Ilya Maclean]

For anybody interested in knowing more about how to separate Brown Shrikes from the other Shrike species, there's a short feature on my Blog:

http://piratebirding.blogspot.com/20...n-shrikes.html

The text mostly refers to the probable one in Cornwall recently, but also includes a diagram showing how the primaries differ from RBs & Izzys.

[John Fordham]

Londonbirders site has exact details on location. See

http://editthis.info/londonbirders/LatestNews

Cheers
John

[joshjenkinsshaw]

Photos now on Surfbirds

[rockfowl]

Here - http://www.surfbirds.com/cgi-bin/gal...llery=gallery9

[jason stannage]

Anyone got any more info on yesterdays red- backed report. and does any one no if if was seen Saturday.I'm just trying to find out how long its been there.I'm stuck in work till sat so fingers crossed it stays. so good luck to anyone going tonight. looks a stonker of a bird.

[London Birder]

Only to say that yesterday's reported Red-backed Shrike was in the same area but was reported on the London Birders wikipedia website with a caveat saying it showed a very well marked head and that it may merit further investigation - at this point in time it looks like yesterday's RBS is today's Brown unless I'm much mistaken.

No shrikes were reported from there on Saturday.

[Matt Prince]

Will it still be there tomorrow...

If it is, lock up your daughters, and bar your gates!
The masses are on their way!

[aythya_hybrid]

I am pretty ignorant about the minutiae of shrike ID, so I'd like to ask is everyone absolutely 100% that this is indeed a Brown Shrike? Just asking out of curiosity given the recent chequered history of brown shrike ID.

[username]

Originally Posted by aythya_hybrid

I am pretty ignorant about the minutiae of shrike ID, so I'd like to ask is everyone absolutely 100% that this is indeed a Brown Shrike? Just asking out of curiosity given the recent chequered history of brown shrike ID.

Not certain at moment....but if Chris Heard reckons that it's got good possibilities then i will be there tomorrow...[whether the bird will be there is another matter o course]! Hoping more pix may come online later...[am wondering what viewing ranges this bird has been at....[guess reasonable distance if you can count primaries]....?

[louisfh]

I've just come back from seeing the shrike, for anybody wanting to go by public transport (unlikely, I know) the Piccadilly to terminal 5 and then bus 441 drops you off about 10 mins walk away. The directions on the londonbirders site are spot on, just add that walking down towards the kissing gates the reservoir perimeter fence is on your left. The bird was present as it was beginning to get dark when I left c6.40 and it was very static in one bush (looking like getting ready to roost). It had showed well earlier, there must be some good photos and poss. a video. Not really able to comment on ID of the bird, never seen a shrike sp. at all before! Good luck anyone that goes for it.

[louisfh]

Username: one guy there claimed he'd had it to around 10 yards earlier in the day! May have been slight exaggeration though

[Johnny Allan]

Hopefully everyone going to see the Brown Shrike will have read up on the identification criteria, take notes etc and try to identify the salient features. I remember the Scilly's bird was identified from photos after it was gone so it can't be too easy. There's a good shot of it's tail on London Birders:

http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/lon...937003928/view

[aythya_hybrid]

Originally Posted by louisfh

I've just come back from seeing the shrike, for anybody wanting to go by public transport (unlikely, I know) the Piccadilly to terminal 5 and then bus 441 drops you off about 10 mins walk away. The directions on the londonbirders site are spot on, just add that walking down towards the kissing gates the reservoir perimeter fence is on your left. The bird was present as it was beginning to get dark when I left c6.40 and it was very static in one bush (looking like getting ready to roost). It had showed well earlier, there must be some good photos and poss. a video. Not really able to comment on ID of the bird, never seen a shrike sp. at all before! Good luck anyone that goes for it.

Thanks for the info, as I will be going by public transport! Just to clarify, did you walk to the north end of Moor Lane? It looks like from here one would then walk under the M25 to get to the bird, is that right?

Thanks!
Jonathan

[louisfh]

Originally Posted by aythya_hybrid

Thanks for the info, as I will be going by public transport! Just to clarify, did you walk to the north end of Moor Lane? It looks like from here one would then walk under the M25 to get to the bird, is that right?

Thanks!
Jonathan

The 441 (which doesn't accept oyster cards!) goes from heathrow central/T5 bus station to Stanwell moor post office on Horton road which is the stop you'll need every half hour (Timetable Link)
I then took the first right down hithermoor road, at the bottom of this road is the pathway to where the bird is showing. Its about a ten minute walk to the bird. (This is north of the moor, moor lane is south of it)

You do not need to go outside of the M25. The bird was showing from the bushes in this location just north of the footbridge Google Maps Link.
I believe RBA gave out an incorrect grid reference at some point.

Good luck tomorrow.
P.S I was the boy you met at the wetlands

[aythya_hybrid]

Brilliant, thanks so much. That sounds fairly straightforward!

Jonathan

P.S. Had a kingfisher by Chiswick Eyot whilst out running yesterday!

[London Birder]

A few more (fairly distant) shots are also now on Birdguides ... skies very clear here in London this evening, but that's just me being a pessimist.

[aythya_hybrid]

Still there per birdguides!
Off I go.....

[Vespa]

Showing well this morning as soon as the mist had cleared. A great pre-work tick, maybe...

The directions to the site have been changed to approach from the eastern side. This makes sense as the other route via Moor Lane takes you through the area the bird is frequenting. It probably wont disturb it too much but maybe better to approach from the other side if possible.