Re: [cobirds] N. Shrike & Say's Phoebe - Arapahoe

That's so cool! I wonder if Jared would find fallen stems as a result of cutworm feeding if he went back out for another gander. 

On Mar 6, 2023, at 8:11 PM, Dave <daleatherman@msn.com> wrote:

Jared et al,

My guess on the shrike prey is army cutworm caterpillar. This is the larval stage of the infamous "miller moth" that we often see in spades in May.  The larvae sometimes exist in large numbers at the base of weedy plant stems. Their feeding can cause the stem to fall, thus the name "cutworm".  

The Phoebe might well have been after the same thing but it has other options like midges and early-active ichneumonid wasps and there is also an early spring robber fly.

Dave

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 6, 2023, at 7:12 PM, Jared Del Rosso <jared.delrosso@gmail.com> wrote:

Today at Willow Spring Open Space, I watched a Northern Shrike and a Say's Phoebe hunt in the same patch of weedy grasses. Each had some success fetching insects from the warming soil. I never really got a good look at what they each caught, but I did notice the shrike with grub-like prey at one point. Really neat to see the two so close together and so active. 

- Jared Del Rosso

Centennial, CO

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