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 <[email protected]> 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 > > -- > -- > 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/07326871-c046-4d5e-bdb6-98a95714283an%40googlegroups.com. -- -- 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/PH7PR12MB7354B1EF01BA969A3B9ED35CC1B79%40PH7PR12MB7354.namprd12.prod.outlook.com.
