This morning my 7-year-old daughter said excitedly, "There's an unusual looking bird at the feeder." Last time she said that, it turned out to be an Evening Grosbeak (many months ago), so I ran over, to find a grayish bird with black on its wings, sitting on a branch a few feet from our platform feeder. My mind tried to compute what it was, and first went to mockingbird, which is pretty rare to begin with around here, but then I realized it was a Northern Shrike, as I took in the distinct mask and hooked beak. Soon after it took off in pursuit of a mourning dove, perched atop a tall tree across the road for a bit while the chickadees went crazy vocalizing, and then finally flew off. I did manage to get some snapshots for documentation from inside the house when I first saw it. A first ever yard bird for us!
Melissa Groo Shindagin Hollow Rd Brooktondale, NY Melissa Groo Fine Art Photography http://melissagroo.com -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
