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FAKENHAM: Intergrade Great Grey Shrike

30th December 2012

As the year drew to an end, the flagging up of the Fakenham Great Grey Shrike as possibly of the homeyeri race made a trip to see it more tempting.  I remembered reading the Birding Frontiers article about a homeyeri Great Grey Shrike at Sheffield, so I had a rough idea of the key features, so I decided to go and have a look for myself.  Upon arrival we saw birders turning to face us, so we stopped near a gap in the hedge, and were rewarded with a close fly past of the Great Grey Shrike.  Whilst the bird was out of view we repositioned ourselves near the area it appeared to fly to, and after a short while it flew up into the tree above us and peered down.  The 'expression' was something akin to one of the velociraptors from Jurassic Park, before it decided we were just too big to impale on a thorn and flew off.  The shrike remained mobile, so we then employed the tried and tested 'stand and wait' technique, and eventually got perched up views, albeit distantly.


The next day the bird was clarified as probably an intergrade: Birding Frontiers Shrike update.

Before heading home we went to Wells, where we saw a Red-necked Grebe, Great Crested Grebe and three Little Grebes from the quay.

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