Friday, August 30, 2013

The Strike of a Shrike

I arrived at the entrance of the Click Ponds near the Viera Wetlands just as this Loggerhead Shrike did with a scrumptious meal. From the car, I was able to snap a few photos of the shrike as it wasted no time impaling its prey on one the fence's sharp barbs. Shrikes are known to use sharp objects to hold the prey they have captured. Shrikes do not have strong enough feet to hold the sizable prey they capture, therefore they hang it somewhere so they can consume it.




I didn't stick  a round to watch the shrike eat the grasshopper as it took notice of me...


I did notice that this shrike appeared some sort of fungus or injury on its bill.


32 comments:

  1. Holy cow, Tammy, what an awesome series of photos. Talk about being in the right place at the right time!! I love your new header picture!! Makes me smile!

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  2. i'd love to see one of these birds. actually we could use about a thousand of them right now to pluck those nasty grasshoppers and locusts from the fields! :)

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  3. Excelentes capturas de como esta especie empala a sus presas antes de comerselas.Un abrazo

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  4. What a beautiful Shrike, oh, not very nice way of murdering it.

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  5. Great shots, it's very beautiful birds in addition very inventive ...

    Greetings from Poland :) / Pozdrawiam

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  6. Hola Tammy bellas imagenes de este Alcaudon con su presa empalada,aqui en España tenemos 4 especies y una es muy parecida a la que nos muestras.Un abrazo

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  7. Super views of the 'Butcher Bird' and its larder.

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  8. Very good sequence .. Great pictures .. Tammy Greetings

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  9. where do you see these things. lol , Great shots, beautiful bird.

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  10. Hi Tammy,
    What a great photos.
    Photo 4 and 5 are totally awesome.
    Greetings Irma

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  11. Hi Tammy !
    Great shots of the shrike, the grasshoppers are really big ?
    Take care over there !

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  12. This is simply awesome behavior and skill.

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  13. Brilliant post showing this great behaviour. I just love Shrikes

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  14. Impresionante y crudo reportaje de las costumbres de esta asombrosa ave. Muchas felicidades Tammy por tan buen trabajo.
    Saludos desde Extremadura

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  15. That's a pretty smart way to keep your dinner from running off.

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  16. Tammy, these are awesome captures of the Shrike with the grasshopper!

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  17. Nice timing, Tammy! Gotta love the Shrikes and their inventive methods!

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  18. Hello Tammy!
    Back from a few days off again, and I come back to discover this magnificent post!
    That is something I would love to witness once... or twice!! ;-)
    From the car is often the way to go and manage great photos!
    But birds will tend to fly away if you stop! :(
    Boy did I enjoy your wasp-dragonfly, such a cute thing. We have no dragons here that would compare!
    Cheers and keep well!

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  19. Wow! Amazing series! Congrats, Tammy!

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  20. Hello Tammy,
    Wonderful shots!!
    So funny to see the hungry eyes of this beautiful bird. The last shot is so great.
    Well done!!

    Many greetings,
    Marco

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  21. Very cool pictures, especially the impaled grasshopper! What a great bird to see.

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  22. Very cool pictures, especially the impaled grasshopper! What a great bird to see.

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  23. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  24. Fantastic shots as always Tammy!
    Hope the sweet little bird enjoyed his meal. ;)
    xo Catherine

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  25. Superb photographs Tammy, yes that beak does look a little odd. In the UK we sometimes call shrikes 'butcher birds' because of what you describe here, is that a name you have heard?

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  26. Estupendo el momento captado. Muy buenas tus ultimas entradas, Los flamencos, la araña...

    Saludos.

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  27. WoW! What beautiful photos!
    Greetings, RW & SK

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  28. geweldig wat mooi gedaan.

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  29. Bonjour Tammy,
    mon amie aux libellules :)
    Magnifique cette pie grièche, superbe qualité de photos ! bravo.

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  30. We rarely get to see Northern Shrikes in Connecticut and never loggerheads any more. Fantastic series of photos to see it in action like that. I'm just glad I'm not that grasshopper!

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  31. I run a blog for Smestow Valley LNR. I have started a nature network to protect our patches and coordinate wildlife surveys. Please could you email me at smestowsightings@gmail.com and I can send you more information. Regards, Chris Millward.
    movingmountains4nature.blogspot.co.uk

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I greatly appreciate your comments!