DSC9416 Red Backed Shrike... - a photo on Flickriver

            Red backed Shrike - Lanius collurio

The red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio) is a carnivorous passerine bird and member of the shrike family Laniidae. The breeding range stretches from Western Europe east to central Russia but it only rarely occurs in the British Isles. It is migratory and winters in the western areas of tropical Africa. 

Once a common migratory visitor to Great Britain, numbers declined sharply during the 20th century. The bird's last stronghold was in Breckland but by 1988 just a single pair remained, successfully raising young at Santon Downham. The following year for the first time no nests were recorded in the UK. But since then sporadic breeding has taken place, mostly in Scotland and Wales. In September 2010 the RSPB announced that a pair had raised chicks at a secret location on Dartmoor where the bird last bred in 1970. In 2011, two pairs nested in the same locality, fledging seven young. In 2012 there was another breeding attempt, this time unsuccessful, probably due to a prolonged spell of wet weather. In 2013 breeding was again confirmed in Devon, with two young fledged at a new site.
 This return to south western England has been an unexpected development and has raised speculation that a warming climate could assist the bird in re-colonising some of its former haunts, if only in small numbers.

Population:

UK breeding:
    1-3 pairs 

UK passage:
    250 birds

Taken on: September 28, 2016

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