This is what remains of a Wren that has been impaled on a twig by one of the two Great Grey Shrikes that are wintering in the Forest of Dean. A bit grisly but fascinating to see this classic behaviour from a "butcher bird", the old English name for shrikes. Other recent prey species have included Blue Tit and Goldcrest but this species also feeds on small mammals and insects. Despite its ruthless behaviour, it is a beautiful bird when seen perching prominently in winter sunshine.
Conor, Paul, and I were in the Forest before dawn this morning. Paul quickly found a distant Goshawk silhouetted against the rising sun. The cold, calm morning provided a classic range of winter forest birds; a large finch flock included over 50 Bramblings and at least 30 Hawfinches. Siskin flocks were joined by a few Common Crossbills but we saw no Two-barred Crossbills...though annoyingly, 4 were reported after we left!
Arguably the best bird we found was a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker; it's an indication of how scarce this species has become that we were seriously excited when we heard drumming followed by the shrill, repeated call of this diminutive woodpecker. We struggled to find it among the tangled branches but eventually we saw one bird, though we thought there was probably a pair.
As we walked back to the car, it was good to see 10 Buzzards soaring together, taking advantage of the first calm and sunny day of 2014. My year list stands at 105 species; not bad after just 11 days.
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