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| The beast from the east! (Graeme Duncan) |
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| Beautiful but deadly, Shrike on the lookout (Graeme Duncan) |
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| OUCH! The Brownsman Butcher tucking in (Graeme Duncan) |
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| Blood on your face! But is it Robin, Goldcrest or Black Redstart? (Graeme Duncan) |
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| Big Fella! North-western type Redpoll on Brownsman (Ciaran Hatsell) |
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| The polls are in! (Laura Shearer) |
Monday 15th
October comments: S.O.S. Our birds are under siege!! The hunt is well and
truly on. Today on the Farnes saw some incredible moments. Small numbers of migrants
are still lingering after making landfall a couple of days and after feeding,
sheltering and resting up on the island, today they were tested.
More or less the first bird of the day was a splendid juvenile
Great Grey Shrike found on Brownsman Island. This was great news for the Ranger
team who all enjoyed cracking views of this bruiser of a bird. They don’t call
them butcher birds for nothing! The bird was almost immediately on the hunt
after arriving, seen to catch and devour a Goldcrest. Next on the menu was a
migrant Robin which met its untimely demise and had its head ripped clean off
after being skewered ‘kebab style’ on a stick. Impressive stuff! The Shrike was
caught, ringed and released and then just carried on killing! It continued to
eat at least one more Goldcrest and a Black Redstart! Shrikes are great value
for money and incredibly efficient hunters, with even this youngster able to
eat its way through the Bird Guide!
If this wasn’t enough to get the migrants running scared, a
Male Kestrel and a Merlin were also hunting around the islands. Whilst stood in
the kitchen, a Robin was watched seemingly trying to get through the window,
panicking and fluttering against the glass. After a couple of
seconds.....WHACK! A Merlin smashed the Robin against the glass and took off
with the bird in its talons. It’s a tough life if you’re a migrant bird and
with all these predators on the prowl, it just got tougher!!!
A very interesting Redpoll was also caught on the islands, exhibiting
some features of a North-western type bird. An absolute beast of a bird with a
wing length of 75mm, it’s certainly worth checking out all Redpolls we get in
future!
Yet another action packed day on the islands and with the
winds switching to the east and Seal Tours beginning this week, it’s an
exciting time to be on the Farne Islands!
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