Sunday 15 September 2013

Always go see Shrikes...

What a bird, what a little stunner! All week I've been itching to go and see the juv Red-backed Shrike at West Canvey. Local blogger after local blogger has been posting point blank images, but could I get there? I couldn't even get there yesterday, being indisposed in Oxford. However by some good fortune it was still there this morning, and so after dumping Mrs L and the girls in central London, young Master L and I went straight there. Well, a slight deviation to pick up suitable optics in Wanstead, but essentially straight there, nothing could have swayed me from my course. Rule #162. I love Shrikes, and I mean love. LOVE. They're brilliant, compact little birds absolutely stuffed full of personality. And Craneflies.

On arrival we could see a small gaggle of people, and a mini proliferation of white lenses. How come so many people have them these days? Naturally I added to the congregation, trouncing everyone with the mighty 800mm. Ha! Happily I only had to lug it all of about 100 yards, and it proved its continued worth - Shrikes are surprisingly small. It was atop a small bush, a crappy shooting angle, but it soon flew down onto the fence to continue feeding there. Probably as close as 30 feet - I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. Oh, except I don't buy any of that, and anyway, this was loads better. It was one of those rare and perfect birds that didn't care. Faced with a barrage of shutter clicks, it could not have cared less, and even the presence of the photographer with as little fieldcraft as I have ever seen didn't phase it - mind you he was well behaved today. And it was a Shrike of course, which added to the perfection. I suppose if I'm nit-picking it could have been an adult male, or a Masked Shrike, but hey....

So, absolutely no apologies for a massively photo-heavy post. It was awesome. Wish I'd been there for the early morning light, as it would have been delightful, but you can't have it all, and I was pleased to be there at all. If I could have one opportunity like this every weekend, ideally with a Shrike, from now 'til the end of the year, I would be a very happy man. Actually, I'm pretty happy already. Brilliant.




 









 

5 comments:

  1. Brilliant, what a little stunner!

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  2. I run a blog for Smestow Valley LNR. I have started a nature network to protect our patches and coordinate wildlife surveys. Please could you e-mail me at smestowsightings@gmail.com and I shall send you more information. Thank you. Regards, Chris Millward.
    movingmountains4nature.blogspot.co.uk

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  3. Now that's just plain daft. How could it be so close? Fabulous photos, Jono

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  4. Incredible (and I mean incredible!) pictures. I think you must have a very expensive 600mm prime lens! Our attempts at picture taking of the Berkshire RB Shrike with our Canon 100-400mm lens didn't give these kinds of results. See http://www.greenham-birding.blogspot.co.uk

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  5. Glad you like them, thanks. Focal length and lens quality always helps (these are actually at 800mm), but actually far more important is technique, understanding light, and, dare I say it, skill. People need to remember that. To anyone that thinks I take good photos because I have an expensive lens, think again. If you ate a nice meal would you compliment the chef on his saucepan? Give me your 100-400 and I'd still nail it. Don't take this the wrong way, but if I handed you my 800mm, could we say the same? I sound very arrogant, but that arrogance comes from continual practice and self-crit, not from writing a cheque. Cheers, JL

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