Frustrating birds! (1 Viewer)

[Lamp64]

Does anyone else have a bogey bird that seems to do everything they can to stop you from seeing them? I don't believe Great Grey Shrikes actually exist. I have what I consider a reasonable list of birds seen in the UK ( around 350 ) but this Shrike is a glaring omission. I've seen 4 other species of shrike but not this one despite twitching at least 5 locally reported birds.
This morning at work I checked the local bird club twitter feed to discover that one had been reported 10 minutes earlier, around 100 yards from where I had been working at the time but was accidentally flushed in the wrong direction. To say I was frustrated is quite an understatement.
Do I give up trying or will one find me one day?

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello Lamp64,

no you shouldnt give up, I am sure you will find one!

 

[B Whyte]

Does anyone else have a bogey bird that seems to do everything they can to stop you from seeing them? I don't believe Great Grey Shrikes actually exist. I have what I consider a reasonable list of birds seen in the UK ( around 350 ) but this Shrike is a glaring omission. I've seen 4 other species of shrike but not this one despite twitching at least 5 locally reported birds.
This morning at work I checked the local bird club twitter feed to discover that one had been reported 10 minutes earlier, around 100 yards from where I had been working at the time but was accidentally flushed in the wrong direction. To say I was frustrated is quite an understatement.
Do I give up trying or will one find me one day?

its frustrating to say the least chasing a single species that should be straight forward. For me its Yellow-browed Warbler no matter how many are reported and how often i try i simply cannot seem to connect. Argh! one day GGS......seen 2 locally and another 2 in Tenerife...sorry

 

[Farnboro John]

Does anyone else have a bogey bird that seems to do everything they can to stop you from seeing them? I don't believe Great Grey Shrikes actually exist. I have what I consider a reasonable list of birds seen in the UK ( around 350 ) but this Shrike is a glaring omission. I've seen 4 other species of shrike but not this one despite twitching at least 5 locally reported birds.
This morning at work I checked the local bird club twitter feed to discover that one had been reported 10 minutes earlier, around 100 yards from where I had been working at the time but was accidentally flushed in the wrong direction. To say I was frustrated is quite an understatement.
Do I give up trying or will one find me one day?

I've not had trouble seeing Great Grey Shrikes except whenever I've been taking someone who needs them to see one! (Although yesterday I spent all afternoon roaming Staines Moor and today somebody else found one there. Grrr!)

Yes we all have bogey birds. Yes they all fall in the end, but in the meantime they bring out the best in resilience and determination in us.

Keep going. It will happen eventually.

John

 

[Lamp64]

Yellow Browed was a species that eluded me for a number of years until I started a job where they are almost annual now within 500 metres of the clocking station. I've now been lucky enough to have seen over 10. Beautiful bird in my opinion very underrated.

 

[Lerxst]

Agami Heron remains elusive for me.

 

[Mysticete]

For the ABA area, it's probably Ruddy Ground Dove. When I lived in California I made 11 separate tries in Arizona and California for this species. It bothers me a lot less now since I saw it in Panama a couple of years back. Brown Booby was another ABA nemesis, although that fell in the Florida Keys this past June.

I dunno...I think my answer is probably Kentucky and Worm-eating Warblers. I've not made a lot of concerted focused efforts on them, but they just "feel" like birds I should have seen by now, as I have most of the other widespread Eastern Warblers.

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

Long eared owl for me. Dipped 3 times this year and a few times last year in a good location for them.

Rich