I finally crumbled today and gave in to the temptation of the juvenile woodchat shrike that has been residing on Hartlepool Headland for the past week or so. It's not a long drive from home (in fact it's nearer to home than Holy Island) but it is out of the county... so the sense of urgency is never as that of a Northumberland bird.
My visit was well timed - the woodchat was easily located in Croft Park - a small green patch on a built up headland (park is located in lower right hand corner of link image). So without further ado I set up the camera and waited.
Sure enough the shrike was as bold as recent correspondence and internet images had suggested, and it was not long before the bird landed a few feet away and surveyed for prey. My only issue was quickly taking the 1.4 extender off ~ both images here are taken with the 500mm.
It's my second juvenile, but the first that I've managed to photograph well.
A smart bird indeed...
4 comments:
Smart and well captured John, a real poser.
80 mile round trip, enchanting bird and great photos. Bargain!
Very nice !
Cheers Lads, always nice to see an interesting species close up. & a bonus being a shrike too...
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