Masked Shrike

Masked Shrike in Fife, October 2004

My car was out of action on the Saturday, but I planned the trip to Barrow the following day to see the Dusky Warbler. However when news broke of a juvenile Masked Shrike at Kilrenny in Fife my plans were suitably changed! Darren picked me up early morning on the Sunday and we picked up Colin en route. We arrived at Kilrenny by late morning and soon found the hundreds of birders watching the bird.

It was not long before we were watching the bird. The shrike was tiny with, it was very grey and white appearance.

It was quite a charismatic bird, actively feeding. We watched the bird for some time as it fed between the ivy and small trees in the walled garden. The Shrike gave us excellent and very memorable views.

This was the first record of this species ever to be recorded in the UK.

After dragging ourselves away from this amazing bird we searched woodland for some Northern Bullfinches. We soon located the birds feeding in the tree canopies. These birds were quite intriguing; they were significantly larger and brighter coloured than the Bullfinches we are used to seeing in the UK.

Once the Bullfinches were lost to view, we went back for some more views of the Masked Shrike before heading back home!

The Masked Shrike is a species that breeds in the far South East of Europe and the Middle East and winters in North East Africa and Arabia The Kilrenny Masked Shrike was the long awaited first record for the UK.