As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Wednesday 14 June 2017

Rare Shrike found in Anglesey and Cattle Egrets nest on the Dee Estuary



30th May 2017

Bird Notes columnist Julian Hughes of RSPB Conwy reveals what birds have been spotted in the past week and lists 20 birding events in the coming days

Of the dozen or so birds that we’ve lost as breeding species in Wales in the last century, the Red-backed Shrike is one of the most striking.

It is suspected that a changing climate combined with new agricultural practices to end its presence here.

Regular nesting ceased in Wales in the 1950s, though a couple of nests in the 1980s gave false hope of a return.

A few Red-backed Shrikes turn up as passing migrants, brought on southeasterly winds, as we experienced last week.

A male at Anglesey’s Penrhos Coastal Park was a Bank Holiday weekend surprise, with some birders lucky to hear it singing, as well as getting views of this smart bird.

While some birds have been lost, others have arrived; the RSPB revealed last week that Cattle Egrets are nesting on the Dee Estuary , just a few hundred metres beyond the Welsh border.

This follows an unprecedented influx of the Mediterranean heron into western Britain. Burton Mere Wetlands is only the third location where Cattle Egrets have nested in Britain.

Continued

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