Northern Shrike

Ronald Zigler

Part of the fun of bird/wildlife photography is seeing and photographing a new species—especially a new species that is not particularly common and easy to find. These birds breed in northern Canada, but will come down into the northern tier of the US during the winter. However, they are considered “scarce” to rare enough to draw a lot of interest from birders. I traveled 30 miles to the park (in Connecticut) twice. I encountered others at the park who traveled much further than I did. If you look carefully, you will notice the hooked bill. The Shrike is a member of the Passerine family of birds (songbirds) but in every other way acts like a small raptor. It preys on small birds, rodents and insects. Sometimes called the “butcher bird” for it’s habit of impaling prey on large thorns or sticks.