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Posted By: Wrennie Shrike!!! - February 6th, 2007 at 03:54 PM
I had never seen a shrike before. Then yesterday as I was getting in my truck, there he was. Sitting on top of the bramble bushes watching my feeder. I love when I see something new! cool
I ran in for my bino's but he was gone {of course} when I came back out. I'll assume it was a northern since I'm in their range and loggerheads are extremely rare in NY.
clp I saw a new biiiiird! clp
Posted By: penny in ontario Re: Shrike!!! - February 6th, 2007 at 03:56 PM
Thats so cool Wrennie!!!
Posted By: Anonymous Re: Shrike!!! - February 6th, 2007 at 04:28 PM
That's very cool and new birds are always excitng. Of course, I wouldn't know a shrike is he bit me in the butt. wink
Posted By: melcon6 Re: Shrike!!! - February 6th, 2007 at 04:55 PM
That's awesome, Wrennie! I'm going to go look that one up ~! thumbup
Posted By: Wrennie Re: Shrike!!! - February 6th, 2007 at 05:16 PM
If he bit you in the butt you'd know it!! laugh
They are similar loking to a northern mockingbird with a black zorro mask. They kill & eat smaller birds, lizards, rodents etc.
Posted By: Thornius Re: Shrike!!! - February 6th, 2007 at 06:01 PM
You have a Lifebird, Wrennie! I used to see Shrikes all the time here, but they appear to be vanishing from Tennessee. The last Northern Shrike I saw was about TEN years ago. As I watched it , it flew down, caught a LARGE grasshopper, then flew up and stabbed the body on a barbed wire spike and proceeded to tear strips off the body and eat them. This is CLASSIC Shrike behavior and has earned them the name, "Butcher Bird". It was the FIRST and ONLY time I had actually witnessed this behavior, and it was the LAST time I saw a Shrike.

Like Wrennie said they look like a Northern Mockingbird on steroids, with a Zorro Mask. We have the LOGGERHEAD Shrike here in Tennessee: Wrennie has the NORTHERN Shrike, but the two species are VERY similar. I haven't taken ANY pictures of a Shrike, yet, but found some GOOD ones on Google Image Search

LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE
[Linked Image]
Posted By: Anonymous Re: Shrike!!! - February 6th, 2007 at 08:13 PM
Wow that's a cool bird--thanks for the pic Thorny! And very cool that you had one and it's a new one for you Wrennie!
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