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calzephyr posting in

common_nature

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.

Black and grey bird sitting on a bird feeder hook

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

autobotscoutriella

Oooh, how cool!

TIL what shrikes look like, haha. There was one in the Redwall books, but they don't live in my area, so when I read those as a kid I was picturing something approximately heron-shaped. He's very pretty!

From:

calzephyr

Thanks! I always thought they were bigger too. I would say he was sturdily built and slightly larger than a magpie or blue jay.

From:

rydra_wong

Yes -- I didn't think they were heron-sized, but was definitely imagining something more elongated and pointier!

From:

autobotscoutriella

Yeah, exactly! The book descriptions just said "gray and black with a sharp beak", and my brain filled in the details with a great blue heron but smaller. I was not expecting something so round!

(Though in fairness, "omg, the terrifying murder creature is adorable" is the classic Redwall Experience.)

From:

bookscorpion

Oooh look at him, what a gorgeous bird! Congratulations on getting to see him!
I wonder if he thought the budgies would make a good snack. I had a young buzzard try to get at mine once (it learned about windows that day and flew away after sitting there dazed for a moment).

From:

calzephyr

I felt the same way--the fact that I was standing there and he tried again to get through the window seemed to indicate this. The house sparrows can certainly see inside--if they see me on the couch, they make a fuss when the feeder is empty :-D

Part of our living room window is covered by a blind, the middle window is screened, and then the other two sides have old tape on them from old window wrap that's never coming off. I also don't clean the windows, so I'm sure he thought the budgies were an easy snack!

Just look at that stabby beak!!!

From:

cmcmck

The shrike family are a deadly bunch for sure!

From:

calzephyr

Oh yes--I haven't seen him since Wednesday. A crow and some magpies were watching from across the street, so I imagine they're stepping up corvid patrol :-D

From:

cmcmck

The ones we see locally are the black backed.

From:

yourlibrarian

I've heard of shrikes but didn't realize they were so deadly! There can be advantages to being a house bird.

From:

calzephyr

Oh yes, my little guys don't know how lucky they are!

From:

shirebound

Oh my, that's a new bird for me. Your poor scared budgies!

From:

turlough

That's a fabulous photo of a wonderfully striking bird! We're supposed to have shrikes here in Sweden - Great Grey Shrikes - but I've never seen one myself.

From:

sparowe

Not familiar with these a'tall, what a handsome bird! <3

From:

kaishin108

Beautiful!

From:

adafrog

Pretty.

From:

kazzy_cee

I know it's a killer, but it's a very pretty bird.

From:

pauraque

Congrats! I always found it interesting how these guys are super territorial even in the winter, while a lot of birds don't care when they're not breeding. It's the only bird I've seen successfully intimidate a Blue Jay!

From:

calzephyr

Oh my goodness! Our local crows returned last week, so along with the magpie squad, everyone should be well protected this summer. The magpies have chased merlins away.