Saturday 17th October

With my wife at home all weekend (and not working 12hr shifts!) and able to look after the kids for the morning I took advantage of getting out to do some birding. In these times of recession, and extorniate petrol prices, I've set up a 'birding fund' from money I'd been gifted at Christmas, birthday (and down the pub!). My birding fund was £35 in credit after the pelagic trip I was give an as birthday present in St Ives in September was cancelled. Already £12 of that had be spent on Dunge dash to see 5x Glossy Ibis a couple of weeks ago and all week I'd been staring at pictures of the Brown Shrike in Staines waiting with my usual optimism to hear it had flown! But it was Saturday, I had the car, I had the petrol money, I didn't have the kids.... I was off! A Common Buzzard soaring over jcn 9 of the M25 added some interest to the journey. I arrived at Stanwell Moor within an hour, and realised I wasn't the only one who had had to wait until the weekend to see this bird! The Brown Shrike was located very quickly and showed very well for the next hour and a half I was there. An extremley smart bird, very active and feeding well, mainly on beetles. A couple of Stonechats were the only things giving it any grief, although it looked up on a couple of occasions when the some Ring-necked Parakeets and a couple of Jumbos went over. I rarely twitch outside of the county, but this was a great bird to see and well worth the trip - thanks Mom for the belated birthday present!

..