GREAT GREY SHRIKE AGAIN

                          

I had a free couple of hours this afternoon so decided to head over to Sapperton to  have another look at the great grey shrike. Driving  past the usual quarry site, I could see a lone birder  standing in a gateway next to his camera set up on a tripod  obviously looking for it.  I  drove on past and then suddenly spotted  the shrike perched  up on a tree  a hundred or so yards down the road. As I slowed down for a better look, the bird flew across the road, towards the quarry. I turned the car round and headed back, parking next to  a gap in the hedge.  Just as I had finished talking to the aforesaid birder, I spotted the shrike  on one of the higher bushes a little way off. It was very mobile today, flying to and fro between different bushes and trees and then disappeared from view and only allowing a couple of records shots, but at least a little closer than on my last visit.  It's a very smart bird; its white and grey plumage standing out against the countryside, and often at the top of a tree or bush, making it easy to spot. At just over twenty minutes from home,  it's worth several visits to see it, always hoping it might just be a little nearer...