Today, while watching a mixed flock of sparrows at Marjorie Perry Nature Preserve in Greenwood Village, I noticed a larger bird (larger than sparrows that is) perched high on a distant tree. What I saw, from a distance, was consistent with a Northern Shrike, but not definitive. Before I biked closer, the bird flew off and disappeared. But arriving to near where the bird had been and in the direction to which it flew, I heard noisy rustling in tall, dry grasses. Then, a shriek, sounding like that of a rodent. Then a bit more rustling. Then nothing.
Nothing emerged from the grasses, but I didn't wait long. I've never seen a shrike really do something. Usually, it's just a perched bird watching -- or flying off when I walk by on a trail. So I don't know if what I heard is consistent with how a shrike would hunt small mammals. But it *might* be. According to *Birds of the World*, shrikes may pursue a mammal into brush or cover and, then, "flick or flash its wings as it moves about in cover in apparent attempt to flush prey." Who knows, though, what I indeed saw and heard, but it has me curious about the shrikes. Also of note, though not a bird: a Coyote, loafing in tall grasses, off the High Line Canal Trail. The trail is littered with deep red scat, reflecting the fact that the number of fallen, over-ripe apples along the Canal and in yards this year is outstanding. - Jared Del Rosso Centennial, CO -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/8b8243a7-4354-4191-95d1-26a66bdd24e7n%40googlegroups.com.
