Thanksgiving for a Shrike?
While hiking last Sunday, I noticed something small and brown in a thin tree. I initially thought it was a small birds nest, but as I looked closer I realized it was a mouse. It was placed here by a bird called a Northern Shrike, as a food "cache" to be eaten at a later date. Shrikes are predatory songbirds, about the size of a Robin, and eat insects, small mammals, and other small birds that they capture. I've found a handful of shrike caches over the years, and nearly all of them were mice, hung between two branches like this. Only once did I find a bird, which was a Chickadee. All of them were also at eye-level or lower, which I find kind of curious. I've seen a few people report similar finding this season, which makes me think it will be a good year so see a Northern Shrike. But as of yet, I have not found one. Wright County, MN 11/19/23
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This Northern Shrike was a huge distance away but I'm saving the photo just to show how this species will choose the very top-most portion of a tree as a perch. This huge cottonwood tree had to be 60+ feet tall and the twig chosen was probably 2 inches higher up than the next highest one to the left. This was the first Shrike I've seen since last November and my FOY for 2022. Hennepin County, MN 01/23/22
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I was pretty excited to find my first-of-season Northern Shrike today, so early into the season. I'd have to go back through my records but in general I think I usually see my first in December. Interestingly when we hiked back on the same path later, an Eastern Bluebird had taken the Shrike's place in these dead trees. It made me think of a particular spring many years ago when I spotted a Northern Shrike and a Bluebird in the very same tree at the same time. At that time, the Shrike was likely getting ready to leave while the Bluebird had just arrived. This time however, the situation was reversed. Washington County, MN 11/07/21
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It was exciting to finally spot another FOY bird today after a long lull. I had a funny encounter with this Northern Shrike and after flying pretty much right over my head, I lost sight of it. So I returned to the same tree it was originally perched in and waited in hopes it might return. It did in fact come right back but unfortunately I found myself pretty much underneath the bird making for a difficult shot. In this one the bird seemed to be bending down around its perch to check me out. It was nearly dusk at the time and sunlight was fading fast. Hennepin County, MN 01/28/21
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Well I guess I'm on a roll with finding dead things after discovering a deceased White-winged Crossbill yesterday. Today I noticed this dead Deer Mouse(?) wedged in a small Buckthorn tree –a tell tale activity of the Northern Shrike. Shrikes are songbirds that feed upon small mammals and other birds and are notorious for catching more food than necessary and then storing it or "cacheing" it for later consumption. Since they don't want to lose their food source, they'll often go so far as to impale their prey upon barbed wire or sharp twigs. I've personally never seen prey impaled but rather simply "hung" over a twig and/or wedged into a tight spot. I would have much rather preferred to find the Shrike itself versus its cache, but it's kinda fun to know how it got there! Ramsey County, MN 12/03/20
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