I just identified a Northern Shrike for the first time. It's been hanging out near my

[adirondacker]

back deck feeder. They look adorable and innocent...


"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. "

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_shrike/sounds


The first time I saw it, it flew off before I could properly identify it. This time I stepped out and the chickadees were going bizzerk flushing into the thick spruce branches. I looked up into a beech and, there it was scouring over the deck. I'll try and shoot a photo next time I witness it.

[Curmudgeoness]

1. Yes, they are beautiful and innocent looking.

I don't blame the chickadees for being in a tizzy. I was unaware that they ate small birds. I have seen them with lizards, grasshoppers, and other larger insects, and have heard that they will take a mouse if they can. But not a chickadee! They don't look big enough to take a bird, do they?

[adirondacker]

2. There were a few chickadee feathers near the feeder last week. I haven't seen the

redtail in quite a while, so I'm highly suspecting this bird is the predator. The first time I saw it ,a few weeks ago, I thought it was a mutant bluejay (I didn't have my glasses on). Today, I got a good look at it through binoculars. It's quite shy, and flies off rapidly once it spots me. This is a first time seeing one here. Pretty cool!

My short list of birds I have hanging around;

Pair of Great Horned Owls with juvy last fall.
Pair of Redtail Hawks that nest 100 ft from my deck. (I got clipped in the head by one whist walking the trail near their nest)
Pileated woodpecker.
Downy woodpeckers.
Harry Woodpeckers.
Golfinch
Ruby Hummingbirds
Common Sparrow
Junkos
Chickadees Galore

[Solly Mack]

3. Cool! Scary little birds. I would love to see one.