all fear the Sentinel

Great Grey Shrike - Knettishall Airfield, November 02nd 2025

Whilst out birding with Nick on Sunday 02nd November, we found a Great Grey Shrike!

A decade ago this would've been dismissed as year-tick dross and probably in a predictable location like Berner's Heath, Grimes Graves or Santon Downham - all of which used to be nailed-on wintering sites.

This bird was actually on Knettishall Airfield - whilst there is more expected Breckland heath nearby at Knettishall Heath - this bird was on arable land and the old World War II airfield itself. 

It was really wide-ranging and upon finding I thought it had flown off, having watched it fly concertedly west and out of view... it then randomly popped back up where we originally sighted it; close to a muck heap #classy 

Great Grey Shrike - Knettishall Airfield, November 02nd 2025

There are many things I like about this record:

• One day stay - all the best rare / scarce is one-day-stay it adds to the mystique;
• Educational bird - since Great Grey Shrikes have got so much rarer, my first thought was to double check the bird and make sure it wasn't a Steppe Grey;
• Actually looking at the bird allowed me to establish it was a first winter - which I would never have done yesteryear when I literally expected to see birds locally in the winter;
• The bird was one of only two in the Country! A long-staying bird in the New Forest, Hampshire.

Great Grey Shrike - Knettishall Airfield, November 02nd 2025

In some respects I am pleased it wasn't a Steppe - because if my reading is correct because of Avilist they don't exist anymore - like Redpolls - which have all ceased to be a tick and therefore pointless. Absolutely pointless. 

Great Grey Shrike - Knettishall Airfield, November 02nd 2025

As a heavily science-based blogger I agree with the butchering of my County and life lists. All hail the Avilist - no matter how many County listers lose a significant milestone (like say 300) and cannot brag to the fairer sex in public houses, or flex on their socials, or get respect from fellow birders, or shout about their numerical prowess on Birdforum. As long as Avilist are happy. No matter how many listers are broken, cold and forgotten along the way, languishing in the high 290's and in self-respect exile.

I just hope you are happy with yourself Avilist.

Literally worse than Brexit.

I've gone off topic, such is the significance of the find it made both the Rare Bird Alert AND Birdguides weekly round-ups, both featuring my photo of the bird! No one has ever achieved this before - like winning g a MOBO and a Brit Awards in the same year.

This must be what it's like to have a child that passes exams or owning a race winning pony or having an olympian in the family. I am sure Mum and Dad will call to express their pride once they've read the weekly round-ups.

Anyway, we went back to Knettishall Airfield this weekend. I expected to find at least a shrike-level rare. To be honest I was confident of a Trudeau's Bunting* - seeing as they are everywhere. This didn't happen. We live to see another week, so I assume a crippling, inland Suffolk rare is just around the corner...

*aka Black-faced Bunting

Few have done it better 

This is the closest we got to Trudeau's Bunting

Till then, blast some Priest, consider sleeping at night, instead of waking up and writing ridiculous blog posts. Say farewell to Hooded Crow and Green-winged Teal (f#ck you Avilist). Watch your beloved County list shrink as the onward march of time will take us to our inevitable demise... 

Sworn to avenge

Condemned to Hell

Tempt not the blade all fear the Sentinel

Sworn to avenge

Condemned to Hell

Tempt not the blade all fear the Sentinel

totanus

I was recently in Blackpool, despite this I appear to have made a full recovery.

I was excited by blasting north, north - westerlies overnight, with 70mph winds in the Irish Sea. Excitement levels were high for my dawn sea watch, the reality was less impressive, a few Common Scoter and facial exfoliation via sand and sea spray. 

On a lunchtime walk I consoled myself looking at the few waders that were mental enough to be hanging about on the beach. I was struck by a much paler, smaller bird with the Redshank flock: 

I consulted Mr. Graham Appleton, of Wader Tales fame, on the basis that he knows a tiny bit more than me about waders and Redshanks and got the following response: 

Small male 'totanus' in a flock of mainly 'robusta'? Larger birds are from Iceland.

— Graham Appleton (@wadertales.bsky.social) October 28, 2025 at 9:35 AM

This is exactly what I suspected and at no point simply assumed the bird was a runt Redshank or midget Spotted Redshank. That would be ridiculous. 

In summary, the main flock comprises sub-species Tringa totanus robusta, Icelandic breeding birds wintering in the UK. Whereas the small bird is probably a male sub-species Tringa totanus totanus, which usually breeds in west, and north Europe over to western Siberia; wintering in Africa, India and Indonesia.

 

If anyone has any alternate opinions let me know in the comments, let's get this totanus party started. Otherwise, I am taking this as a first for the UK. 

A class bird: 

Here is a video - because I am multi-media: 

This blog really is the tip of the birding spear. Cutting edge science. Also, I love Redshanks:

 

álft

Here are some cold hard facts; Welney WWT is the business and I absolutely love Whooper Swans. I have been fortunate to visit Welney twice this week and I am due back again this coming Thursday. As well as the soaking up the landscape-level birding I love ring-reading. 

I didn't actually read any rings on the reserve, but on my way home, and safely over the boundary into Suffolk, I stopped to peruse a herd. There were two white-ringed birds, sadly too distant to read the rings. This yellow-ringed bird 'ZCU' was close enough to confirm the digits:

I assume the bird is Icelandic - which means it has covered the1000 miles (as the swan flies) from Iceland to be wintering in East Anglia: 

It was ringed at Martin Mere back on 01st March 2016, returned to Martin Mere in October of both 2017 and 2018, then wintered again in 2019. 

After a few blank recording years - possibly owing to the Covid lockdown? It was first recorded in East Anglia in January of 2022, just over the border at Southerly, it was last recorded over the border in Suffolk again in January of 2022 at Cooks Drove, Mildenhall. 

After a gap of almost three years I set eyes on it - with five cygnets in tow near Kenny Hill, again in Suffolk. When caught in 2018 ZCU was confirmed as an adult male, so it is at least nine years old. Some way to go to threaten the Whooper Swan longevity record, but I hope to see it again in twenty years time!