20220704 (4)_Turkestan_Shrike
Once upon a time birders went to see Isabelline Shrikes. Then a rumour that a split was in the air made them pay attention to whether birds were Daurian or Turkestan Shrikes. Then the criteria for identification changed, the split happened and the committees raised the identification bar. The upshot of all this is that this is my third Turkestan Shrike in Britain but likely to be the first accepted one, enabling me to tick it for a third time.... It's an adult male, we saw it well at fairly close range, it was the first rarity I photographed with my new Canon R7 and it's a very smart bird. Excellent!
20220704 (4)_Turkestan_Shrike
Once upon a time birders went to see Isabelline Shrikes. Then a rumour that a split was in the air made them pay attention to whether birds were Daurian or Turkestan Shrikes. Then the criteria for identification changed, the split happened and the committees raised the identification bar. The upshot of all this is that this is my third Turkestan Shrike in Britain but likely to be the first accepted one, enabling me to tick it for a third time.... It's an adult male, we saw it well at fairly close range, it was the first rarity I photographed with my new Canon R7 and it's a very smart bird. Excellent!