Friday 7 November 2008

SAXAUL GREY SHRIKE IN NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE AND ITS STATUS IN BRITAIN





This first-winter SAXAUL GREY SHRIKE was located just inland of Grainthorpe Haven, North Lincolnshire, this afternoon, and was video-filmed by local birder Roy Harvey (see video-grabs above)
It represents only the 19th record for Britain, is the first for Lincolnshire and the first 'widely twitchable' bird in Britain since that in Essex in 1996

The previous records are as follows
1956 Shetland Fair Isle, first-winter, trapped, 21st September (FIBOR 1955/56: 25; FIBOB (Vol. 3, No. 3) 1957: 111; British Birds 50: 246-249; Thom, 1986).
1964 Shetland Fair Isle, first-winter, trapped, 18th October (British Birds 58: 368; 66: 401-402).
1986 Suffolk Landguard NR, trapped, 6th December (British Birds 81: 587; Twitching 1: 50).
1989 North Yorkshire Bishop Monkton, probably first-winter, 31st October to 1st November (British Birds 91: 511).
1989 Dorset Portland, first-winter, 1st November (British Birds 86: 524).
1992 Cornwall Cape Cornwall and Kenidjack Carn, 21st to 23rd April (British Birds 86: 524, 527, plates 196-197; 88: 288-290).
1992 Suffolk Easton Bavents and Southwold, 4th to 7th October (British Birds 86: 524).
1993 Wiltshire Swindon, first-winter, taken into care injured, 23rd September. released 24th, present to 28th (British Birds 87: 560, 562, plate 167).
1994 Orkney North Ronaldsay, first-winter male, 14th September to 16th October, trapped 5th. Papa Westray, 11th to 26th November (British Birds 88: 543, 552, plates 187-189; Scottish Bird Report 1994: 58).
1994 Essex Great Wakering, first-winter, 26th to 30th October (British Birds 90: 504).
1994 Cumbria South Walney, first-winter, 2nd November (British Birds 88: 543).
1994 Shetland Boddam, probably first-winter, 7th to 10th November (British Birds 88: 543, 545; Scottish Bird Report 1994: 58).
1996 Essex Holland-on-Sea, first-winter, 18th November to at least 4th December (British Birds 90: 504, plate 183).
1997 Northamptonshire Long Buckby, first-winter, 3rd to 4th November (British Birds 91: 511).
2000 Orkney Windwick, South Ronaldsay, first-winter, 22nd September (British Birds 94: 496)
2003 Isle of Man Ballaghennie Ayres, first-summer male, in song, 17th June to 12th July (Birding World 16: 248-251, plates 1-5; British Birds 96: plate 278: 97: plate 364 – 97: 616)
2004 Kent Ash, first-winter, 6th-7th November (Brtish Birds 98: 684).