Loggerhead Shrike Devouring An Impaled Vole
Loggerhead Shrikes are often called “butcher birds” and this one demonstrated for me how that moniker was earned.
Tag: loggerhead shrike
Shrike Take-off Against A Smoky Background (plus an Antelope Island raptor report)
Birds were generally slow on Antelope Island yesterday morning but this Loggerhead Shrike saved the day.
Loggerhead Shrike In Two Interesting Poses
There were many interesting bird and large mammal photo subjects on Antelope Island yesterday morning but in my mind this Loggerhead Shrike stood out.
Loggerhead Shrike In Full Flight
It isn’t often that I get a full-flight shot of a songbird but I did yesterday morning, thanks in part to Lady Luck who sat on my shoulder twice.
The Shrike And The Grasshopper (and noticing the “little things”)
I make every effort in the field to “read” the behavior of my avian subjects. Sometimes I’m right and sometimes I’m not but either way it’s a learning experience for me and my percentage of accuracy does seem to be improving. One of the payoffs can be better bird photographs for a variety of reasons.
Bird Banding – A Necessary Evil?
For the first six years of my bird photography “career” I rarely encountered banded birds but in the last two years or so I encounter them regularly, some species more than others. Usually when I see a bird with bands or transmitters strapped to their backs I don’t even click the shutter except for documentation purposes.
Shrike Sneak-attack On A Red-tailed Hawk
Believe it or not it was at that moment that a Loggerhead Shrike with a chip on its shoulder swooped in out of nowhere to harass the hawk. Because I was ready for it I was able to get two shots with both birds in the frame. In this first one I don’t believe the hawk yet knows the shrike is there.
Birds Using Bison Hair As Nesting Material
For millennia a variety of North American bird species used bison hair during nest construction but when the “buffalo” was brought to the brink of extinction by hunters in the late 1800’s that resource was essentially gone. Today there are relatively few places where bison hair is available to birds and Antelope Island is one of them.
Loggerhead Shrikes “Mate Feeding”
Five days ago I posted a series of images of a male Loggerhead Shrike feeding his mate (a ritual that is part of the pair bond between mated birds) and at the time I mentioned that I had photographed the same behavior the day before from the same birds. This is that sequence of images.
Male Loggerhead Shrike Feeding His Mate
Male Loggerhead Shrikes feed their mates beginning with the formation of pair bonds in early spring and such behavior continues throughout the incubation and nestling periods.
A Potpourri Of Raptors
The only common theme running through all of these images is that the subjects are all “birds of prey” (phrase used loosely). Each photo was taken within the past year.
How The Loggerhead Shrike Got Its Name
Loggerhead Shrikes have several distinguishing characteristics including a mean-looking hooked beak and a black facial mask but it’s their very large head that gave them their common name.
A Twice-anomalous Loggerhead Shrike
There are two interesting things about this Loggerhead Shrike that I thought were worth a closer look.
A Mated Pair Of Loggerhead Shrikes
I have very few images of mated pairs of songbirds that I like. This second shot from yesterday is one of them.
Birds “Wearing To Dark” – Some Visual Evidence As To Why
This past summer I posted these first two Loggerhead Shrike images as evidence that the ventral colors of the species change from white to almost black as the summer wears on and asked my readers why this occurs. Several responded with a logical explanation.
Three days ago I photographed a Horned Lark that may demonstrate that those readers were right.
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Shrike Take-off Against A Smoky Background (plus an Antelope Island raptor report)
Birds were generally slow on Antelope Island yesterday morning but this Loggerhead Shrike saved the day.
Loggerhead Shrike In Two Interesting Poses
There were many interesting bird and large mammal photo subjects on Antelope Island yesterday morning but in my mind this Loggerhead Shrike stood out.
Loggerhead Shrike In Full Flight
It isn’t often that I get a full-flight shot of a songbird but I did yesterday morning, thanks in part to Lady Luck who sat on my shoulder twice.
The Shrike And The Grasshopper (and noticing the “little things”)
I make every effort in the field to “read” the behavior of my avian subjects. Sometimes I’m right and sometimes I’m not but either way it’s a learning experience for me and my percentage of accuracy does seem to be improving. One of the payoffs can be better bird photographs for a variety of reasons.
Bird Banding – A Necessary Evil?
For the first six years of my bird photography “career” I rarely encountered banded birds but in the last two years or so I encounter them regularly, some species more than others. Usually when I see a bird with bands or transmitters strapped to their backs I don’t even click the shutter except for documentation purposes.
Shrike Sneak-attack On A Red-tailed Hawk
Believe it or not it was at that moment that a Loggerhead Shrike with a chip on its shoulder swooped in out of nowhere to harass the hawk. Because I was ready for it I was able to get two shots with both birds in the frame. In this first one I don’t believe the hawk yet knows the shrike is there.
Birds Using Bison Hair As Nesting Material
For millennia a variety of North American bird species used bison hair during nest construction but when the “buffalo” was brought to the brink of extinction by hunters in the late 1800’s that resource was essentially gone. Today there are relatively few places where bison hair is available to birds and Antelope Island is one of them.
Loggerhead Shrikes “Mate Feeding”
Five days ago I posted a series of images of a male Loggerhead Shrike feeding his mate (a ritual that is part of the pair bond between mated birds) and at the time I mentioned that I had photographed the same behavior the day before from the same birds. This is that sequence of images.
Male Loggerhead Shrike Feeding His Mate
Male Loggerhead Shrikes feed their mates beginning with the formation of pair bonds in early spring and such behavior continues throughout the incubation and nestling periods.
A Potpourri Of Raptors
The only common theme running through all of these images is that the subjects are all “birds of prey” (phrase used loosely). Each photo was taken within the past year.
How The Loggerhead Shrike Got Its Name
Loggerhead Shrikes have several distinguishing characteristics including a mean-looking hooked beak and a black facial mask but it’s their very large head that gave them their common name.
A Twice-anomalous Loggerhead Shrike
There are two interesting things about this Loggerhead Shrike that I thought were worth a closer look.
A Mated Pair Of Loggerhead Shrikes
I have very few images of mated pairs of songbirds that I like. This second shot from yesterday is one of them.
Birds “Wearing To Dark” – Some Visual Evidence As To Why
This past summer I posted these first two Loggerhead Shrike images as evidence that the ventral colors of the species change from white to almost black as the summer wears on and asked my readers why this occurs. Several responded with a logical explanation.
Three days ago I photographed a Horned Lark that may demonstrate that those readers were right.