Sunday, 11 August 2019

At last! Shrike Meadow 9 August AM


Round about this time last year, I suggested to Dai that a post in front of the Shrike Meadow hide would be a good idea, with the aim of bringing in a Kingfisher that had been frequenting the more distant tree. Dai then had a word with Thames Water and, to their great credit, in time a post duly appeared!

However it has taken many visits on my part since then, though last autumn, the winter and then the spring & summer this year to finally connect with this bird. Others may have seen it from time to time, but despite many hours of waiting it never showed for me, until today that is!

Remarkably it was a good session with some sunny intervals and the bird showing three times between about 09:00 and 13:00. The first two of these visits were extended to as much as 30-45mins, with plenty of dives. These gave me a chance to try for flight shots as well as the much easier post shots.

Go to this galley to see more higher res photos from this session.

What this bird really needs now is a better, more natural looking perch. Anyone else agree?