Re: [cobirds] Re: Identification for these adorable birds

Caleb et al,

I agree with your general statement about the seasonal occurrence of shrikes in CO, but only for the northern plains.  I have spent four weeks in southeastern CO (Prowers, Bent, Baca, Las Animas) since early December and my tally is as follows: loggerhead shrike 6, northern shrike 0.  That is not so say northern shrikes do not occur down there in winter, they do.  They were tallied on the John Martin Reservoir CBC and have been seen in small numbers by others this winter.  I guess my point is it depends where you are and when.  Birds that usually winter south of Colorado are becoming more common in winter as the climate changes.  What is true for the winter of 2020-21 might not be so true for winter 2030-31.  I have been going to southeastern Colorado in all seasons for the last 47 years and would say south of the Arkansas River and east of I-25, a shrike seen in winter down there has much more than a 50% chance of being a loggerhead.  Ditto for the Grand Junction area.  On the Pawnee Grasslands, different story.  A few loggerheads have occurred there in winter over the years, and will be increasingly more likely in coming years (IMO), but the overwhelming odds at present favor northern.

And I agree Brian's photo shows a northern, the more expected species for its location and date.  Now the question is, what was it eating?  Is it preying on birds at feeders, small rodents, wintering nymph grasshoppers, all of the above, what?  Is it utilizing the technique of impaling, jamming big prey into branch crotches, or eating its prey without temporary storage altogether?

Dave Leatherman

Fort Collins

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From: cobirds@googlegroups.com <cobirds@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Caleb A <calebscotta@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 23, 2021 6:59 PM
To: Colorado Birds <cobirds@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [cobirds] Re: Identification for these adorable birds

 

Hi Brian!

The first photo looks to be a female American Goldfinch. Note that it's pale yellow-ish, has a small, dark "finch" bill, the clean, pale underparts, and the "tipped" tail with black and white. The second photo is a Northern Shrike. We get two shrike species in Colorado: Northern and Loggerhead Shrike. The one you photographed is a Northern Shrike. Note that the black line going through its eye gets very thin. Its sister shrike species would have a thicker "mask." Generally speaking, if you see a shrike in the winter, it's a Northern Shrike, and if you see a shrike in the summer, it's a Loggerhead Shrike. (During migratory seasons, you have to watch out for the explicit marks, because both species are present!)

Hope this helps you :)

The birds are happy, and so am I

~Caleb Alons, Larimer County

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