Some amazing photos of the red-backed shrike found today at the Noke end of the reserve taken by Terry Sherlock.
The shrike was still present at 7pm this evening so may well still be lurking around tomorrow morning (2nd October). It's always exciting when an unusual visitor turns up on the reserve and this shrike was no exception. It gave brilliantly close views as it tucked into the plentiful insects on offer. Red-backed shrikes used to be a common summer visitor to the UK, but numbers declined greatly during the 20th century and apart from very limited recent breeding attempts in Devon, all the birds we see in the UK now are from the mainland European populations passing through on their way to and from Africa. Known as butcher birds, shrike have the unusual habit of sometimes impaling their prey onto thorns in order to build up a tasty larder.
Please note that as parking is severely restricted in Noke, it is advised you park in the main RSPB Otmoor car park and then follow the bridleway west for about 2 km past the new hide towards Noke (be aware that contractors are using heavy plant on the bridleway at the moment). Take the first left hand track you come to and walk about 100 yards towards the farm. The shrike (today at least) was easily viewable on the hedge and fence line adjacent to Lower Farm.