Northern Shrike - Butcher Bird

Had a great day yesterday with friends Cathy and Terry, driving the backroads SE of the city, hoping to see an owl or two. The day started off with a Long-eared Owl and ended with a Short-eared Owl! In total, we saw 5 Snowy Owls, 4 Great Horned Owls, 1 Long-eared Owl and 1 Short-eared Owl. Plus a few other species, including this Northern Shrike, many Grey Partridges (all of which flew before we could take photos, other than a couple of very distant ones), Horned Larks, Ravens/Crows, owls in barn windows, a beautiful Gyrfalcon and a colourful sunrise. Not a bad day, I think you'll agree : ) I rarely get to see a Shrike and though this is a distant, heavily cropped shot, I was happy to have got a record of this sighting. The only thing we didn't see, except briefly, was the forecast sun, so unfortunately it was an overcast day of low light.

"A predatory songbird, the Northern Shrike breeds in taiga and tundra and winters in southern Canada and the northern United States. It feeds on small birds, mammals, and insects, sometimes impaling them on spines or barbed wire fences." A common name is "Butcher Bird" for obvious reasons : ) Form AllAboutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_shrike/id

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Grey_Shrike