A lifer!

[calzephyr]

Wednesday was just another snowy spring day when this guy showed up!

OMG! A Northern shrike!!!

I was upstairs in my office when I heard the budgies flapping and didn't see the problem at first.

Then I saw this beautiful, but deadly bird!

He flew at the window and scared the budgies again, so I moved the cage away. He sat there for a good long time and flew away. He was not bothered at all by me standing right at the window looking at him.

Shrikes impale small birds and animals "for later", so I'm going to keep an eye on my bird feeder because I don't want my rose bush to become a graveyard. I haven't seen it again so far today, so perhaps the snow derailed his travel plans like everyone else lately.

Comments

[soemand]

TIL. I’ll have to look it up in our little ones bird book to check out range.

[calzephyr]

For sure! You should be able to see them at some point--apparently, they like being near water.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Shrike/maps-range

They're in YYC from October to March, and then they fly North to breed. I live nowhere near the places they have been spotted, like Carburn Park.

[frith]

A butcher bird! Great picture too. Not much hope of seeing one near me, farming kills off nearly all the insects every year. But I do get cardinals and orioles.

[calzephyr]

Thanks! Agreed, we need more bird friendly spaces more than ever. I still have time to order seeds to make a pollinator garden this year, if the mice and birds don't eat them :-D

[darkcedars]

New lifer is so exciting!

[calzephyr]

Absolutely! I don't get out to birdwatch as much as I'd like, so it's nice when they come to me :-D

[pengilly]

Just read an article about shrikes, and...man! I can't believe such a cute bird can be so brutal! That's a gorgeous photo by the way!

[calzephyr]

Thank you :-D

Indeed, I was nauseated when I first read about them, but ah, well, they are dinosaur descendents :-)