Red-backed Shrike: Today I had a free pass while Dawn was out with the girls and decided to take baby Autumn. So I was off down the M6 to Sutton Park.
Sutton Park is a large urban park located in Sutton Coldfield. Most of the park is a National Nature Reserve that contain large areas of heathland a perfect area for a visiting shrike!
It was my first every visit to Sutton Park and i was blown away, the place is stunning a real valuable resource of nature in the heart of Birmingham.
The Red-Backed Shrike has the Latin name
Lanius collurio with Lanius coming from the Greek for butcher and this species is known as the butcher bird due to its rather barbaric behaviour. They are famous for impaling and spearing its prey on spiky barbs of bushes and thorns with its bird of prey like bill. Pretty cool really.
I loved the place, not only is it a temporary home to this shrike but it's also home to cronking ravens, green woodpeckers and redstarts.
This little stunner gave the group of birders I was with some entertainment while the shrike went missing. The shike wasn't phased by the dozens of dog walkers or the presences of onlookers, birders and photographers.
It either spent long periods of time flying from perch to perch, chasing off chiffchaffs and foraging for food. There were plenty of birders with cameras (just like me) who were well behaved.
I think this is my second only adult red-backed shrike that I've seen after seeing up to six juveniles, so for me it was well worth the trip down the M6.
