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03 April 2016

Huge movement of Turkestan Shrikes - Haradh

Whilst birding a large expanse of pivot irrigation fields near Haradh on Friday we came across very large numbers of various species of shrike. The majority of shrikes were Turkestan Shrikes with 49 birds seen some of which were very well marked adult makes. We also saw two Woodchat Shrikes, eight Steppe Grey Shrikes and four Daurian Shrikes including an unusual very bright adult bird with quite a grey mantle. It is possible the bird looked slightly oddly coloured due to the overcast conditions but it was certainly slightly different to any birds I have seen previously as it was more rufous washed on the underparts and grey on the upperparts. This is the second spring in a row where I have seen large numbers of shrikes together in a relatively small area and makes for great birding.
Turkestan Shrike
Turkestan Shrike
Turkestan Shrike
Turkestan Shrike
Turkestan Shrike
Turkestan Shrike
Daurian Shrike
Daurian Shrike