Turkistan Shrike (Red-tailed Shrike): This Turkish delight otherwise known as a red-tailed shrike was relocated just down the main track to the reserve and was reported late into the evening, so thinking there was a good chance it had roosted in the same area I started to hatch a plan.
Leaving at 2.30am arriving at around 5am, and picking Gary up on the way up we made good time and arrived just intimate for the rain!
Only light showers that soon cleared up, but it seemed to have kept the bird out of sight and perhaps under cover. As the clouds thinned out, the rain stopped and it warmed up a bit the bird came out and started to hunt, for bees.
Split from Isabelline shrike to a full species in its own right its a pretty rare bird and there were plenty of top twitchers who had made the same early Strat with the hope of connecting with it.
