Red Backed shrikes in gardens?

[vinnychameleon]

Hi all. I know that RBS are regular passage migrants and i was wondering do they regularly turn up in gardens along the coast. I thought i had herd they do but i was just asking to check. Also how big are they e.g robin size? . Cheers guys .

[John]

Originally Posted by vinnychameleon

Hi all. I know that RBS are regular passage migrants and i was wondering do they regularly turn up in gardens along the coast. I thought i had herd they do but i was just asking to check. Also how big are they e.g robin size? . Cheers guys .

A R B Shrike is about a fifth bigger than a Robin. It is also a very strikingly differently looking bird as well.

Anything can turn up in gardens but regarding it a regular visitor I would say no.

Here are a couple of images I took of these birds. I think the first one is a first winter bird, the second is a male adult.




John

[aeshna5]

One could turn up in your garden- generally there's more chance of me scooping the lottery (if only!)- mind you if you lived on Portland or Scilly, etc the odds would be much better for you. Are you on a headland that's a migrant trap? If not I wouldn't hold my breath, but the unexpected does occasionally happen!

[jonesboy58]

You were asking if they were Robin size, I once saw an Isabelline shrike which is a fraction larger than Red Backed that was EATING a Robin( bless it).