Saturday August 8 - Long-tailed Shrike

 I could stand it no longer. The third British record of Long-tailed Shrike had been sitting in a hedge on the Gloucestershire/Oxfordshire border for about three weeks. The key was Lyn's suggestion that she come with me (essential equipment in the boot). This worked a treat and we arrived at the impromptu car-park (a farmers field), and donated three quid in the honesty box. While Lyn sat and read the paper, I set off up the road to join the small group of birders who were trying to see Shrike.

There was a half hour wait while those who had seen it assured new arrivals that it was probably just the other side of the hedge. Eventually it appeared and decent views were had by all.

By waiting until all the real twitchers had seen it, the crowd this morning was of very modest size.

Other birds were also seen, including a Corn Bunting, a Marsh Harrier, and a Whinchat.

The other thing I've doing this week is adding up all the organisms I've seen in the British Isles for my PSL list. So the Long-tailed Shrike became tick number 1,300. This might seem a lot, but I'm a real lightweight compared to my fellow competitors. The lead guy has seen over 13,000, and I'm outside the top 200 listers.

On the other hand my list is just birds, garden moths, butterflies and dragonflies plus a scattering of other life forms. One big gap is vascular plants simply because I rarely record them. Plenty of scope for advancement.