Delight for nature lovers as 13-year-old spots rare bird at RSPB Fen Drayton reserve in Cambridgeshire

Bird watchers flocked to RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes after a 13-year-old boy spotted a rare red-backed shrike.

Jack Brackley, a Cambourne Village College pupil and keen photographer, spotted the striking bird while out with his father at the reserve on Saturday, 7 June.

After they put the word out among the birding community, dozens of nature lovers and photographers descended to see the unusual visitor in hedgerows and a wheat field beside the entrance road. It was recorded on the site for a couple more days.

County bird recorder Jon Heath confirmed it was only the 22nd sighting of a red-backed shrike in Cambridgeshire since 1980, when the species last nested here.

It was the first sighting of one in the county since 2021, in nearby Over, while another was at Fen Drayton Lakes in 2020.

“In August 1954, there was a party of 15 along Devil’s Dyke, showing how many more there used to be and how scarce they’ve become. The decline is thought to be mainly due to habitat loss and dwindling insect prey numbers,” said Jon.

The RSPB says the red-backed shrike is virtually extinct as a breeding bird in the UK and only about 250 are seen each year on passage. Declines in their numbers in the UK means this carnivorous species is now on the Red List.

Slightly larger than a sparrow, they are more commonly seen in Western Europe and Russia and spend their winters in Africa.

The sighting capped a memorable spell for the reserve, after another rare species, a white-winged black tern, was seen for several days early in June.

“It was the 34th record for Cambridgeshire,” confirmed Jon, who said one was also seen at Fen Drayton Lakes in 2009 and 2023.