Great Grey day at Newland's

I went fishing yesterday evening and caught a rather modest chub using a method that I'd completely overlooked; touch legering. I came home and started to write a blog entry but became lost in a sea of nostalgia and technical stuff. The post was saved to the "draft" file; I'd revisit it when I finish work, well that was the plan. An early shift on Friday is always a good one - we finish at 13.00hrs!

A rather modest, although immaculate, chub caught touch legering.
The reel is a Matt Hayes "Limited Edition" 4 1/2" diameter Centre-pin 

It had been a grey, overcast sort of morning and there was a significant passage of hirundines passing over the Pyson's Rd Industrial Estate so I decided to walk back home via the muddy fields, instead of the footpath. A few Meadow Pipits and a couple of Song Thrushes were my reward, plus muddy shoes, until I turned left just beyond The Old Rose Garden and made my way towards Vine Close. A bird flushed from the lea ward side of a small oak and flew low across the newly sown field. "That looked like a shrike?" thinks I subconsciously. No binos or camera, I thought little more of it until a Great Grey Shrike flew back past me - bloody hell! A patch tick!

 

 

I've found several Great Grey Shrikes over the years, yet none of them mean as much as this one. I rushed home to grab my camera and binoculars; if there was any chance, I wanted a record of this bird. I rang Gadget, who was fishing the R. Stour, before making my way back to the hedgerow, at the end of Vine Close, where I'd last seen the bird. Bingo - it was still there and with a bit of creeping about, I managed to grab a few images to ensure the record was beyond doubt. A new patch tick; something only "patch watchers" can appreciate. Seeing a UK Great Grey Shrike is always enjoyable - finding one on your patch just elevates the sighting to another level.

The best I could manage - my Newland's Farm Great Grey Shrike - with Buff-tailed Bumblebee!