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Tuesday, May 06, 2008
When Shrikes Attack
On my lunchtime walk yesterday, I heard a noise I hadn't heard for a few years and looked up to see a Loggerhead Shrike buzzing past, having just flown up out of a brushy field, through some trees, and out into the open area near the hike and bike along the creek by my house. Just a quick look, and the distinctive buzzy, burry, call notes of the shrike as it went by. These guys have really declined in the Northeast, and its been probably 20 years since one has been reported in my county, and I'll have to do a write-up for the Pennsylvania Ornithological Records Committee. Hopefully it will stick around so I can get an even better view!
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Wow, a springtime Loggerhead anywhere in the northeast is a big deal--nice find! I remember calling in 'sick' to run to see one in Salem Co., NJ, lo these many ago, and I've never seen one in Pennsylvania. Just to give a sense of how far that bird has sunk, I remember the days in the Midwest when a report of Northern Mockingbird was usually countered with "Are you sure it wasn't just a shrike?" 'Just' a shrike--I wish!
Rick
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