The Loggerhead Shrike, A Rare Opportunity, Part 4 of 4

My encounter with the Loggerhead Shrike could probably have gone on for quite a long time. It had already gone on much longer than I anticipated. I was certain the shrike would fly off when I started to walk away, but it just turned on its perch and watched as I circled slowly past it. I think it may have actually been a bit upset I was leaving. Anyway, all good stories have an end and this was about as intense and visually powerful an end as I have ever seen:

I turned and walked on down the trail... The End

This set of photographs was taken at the Roosevelt Park Trailhead on the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River on Thursday, January 2, 2014.

The Loggerhead Shrike, A Rare Opportunity, Part 3 0f 4

So, in Part 2, the Loggerhead Shrike was perched, obviously aware of but unperturbed by my close presence. It kept scanning the ground. I kept snapping photos:

The primary food of the Loggerhead Shrike is large insects, especially grasshoppers. As a matter of fact, a shrike staring down from a perch above is probably a grasshoppers worst nightmare. In the winter when there aren't many insects, the shrike has to depend on frogs, small snakes, lizards, even mice and small birds as a food source.

They are in every sense of the term a "bird of prey." They lack the talons of the raptors, so they catch their prey by the neck with their strong, hooked beak and sever the spinal cord. The shrike then impales its prey on a thorn (or barb wire) and uses its beak the way a raptor would use its talons.

Because of their method of impaling the prey, they are sometimes called Butcherbirds. This behavior may seem to some to be "mean." I have witnessed a fair number of predators taking down prey and it is always in some sense gruesome, but it is part of the cycle of life.

Anyway, I couldn't help but wonder if this shrike was staying so close hoping I would scare up something for it to eat… (to be continued)

This set of photographs was taken at the Roosevelt Park Trailhead on the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River on Thursday, January 2, 2014.

The Loggerhead Shrike, A Rare Opportunity, Part 2 of 4

In the previous post, we left the Loggerhead Shrike hanging onto a dried sunflower stalk trying to keep its balance in the wind. I was convinced the shrike was going to fly off to find a more secure perch. Well, it did take off, but instead of flying away, it actually flew even closer to where I was standing. It landed on a more secure perch and began scanning the ground for any prey that might be hiding in the grass below:

This bird did not seem the least bit concerned about my close presence... (to be continued)

This set of photographs was taken at the Roosevelt Park Trailhead on the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River on Thursday, January 2, 2014.

The Loggerhead Shrike, A Rare Opportunity, Part 1 of 4

It is fairly rare for smaller birds to perch close to where I am photographing and remain long enough to take a short series of photos, but this Loggerhead Shrike was exceptionally cooperative. I was looking for wildflowers still blooming at the beginning of January when this shrike flew across the river and landed on a drying sunflower stalk about fifteen to twenty feet from where I was standing. There was just enough wind, it was having some difficulty keeping its balance:

I had the impression it was getting a bit frustrated holding on to the stalk and would fly off to find a more secure perch... (to be continued)

This set of photographs was taken at the Roosevelt Park Trailhead on the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River on Thursday, January 2, 2014.

Anticipation

Friday, March 8, 2013

San Antonio River, Mission Reach, Confluence Park Trailhead downstream

Today's photos:

I was anticipating Spring while I was on this walk. I suspect nature was anticipating the impending change in the weather with another approaching cold front. There had already been enough sprinkles to get things damp earlier in the day. The forecast was for heavier rain later in the weekend.

• Photo one is a Texas Thistle.
• Photos two and three are Pink Evening Primrose with a few rain drops remaining on their petals from the sprinkles earlier in the day.
• Photos four and five are Huisache flowers.
• Photo six is a Mealy Blue Sage.
• Photo seven is a Little Blue Heron flying upstream, apparently with somewhere to go. It will reappear momentarily.
• Photos eight through eleven are a Loggerhead Shrike. It was keeping a watch over the river and finding lots of flying insects to eat.
• Photos twelve and thirteen are two Red-winged Blackbirds perched in a Sycamore tree. The sycamores are beginning to set their leaves.
• Photos fourteen through sixteen are The Three Amigos: (l. to r.) a Great Blue Heron, a Snowy Egret and the Little Blue Heron. These birds are typically very competitive when it comes to territory, so I was surprised to see them standing this close together.
• Photo seventeen is a close up of the Great Blue Heron.
• Photos eighteen through twenty are a Killdeer. He was on a rock not very far downstream from the three amigos, but far enough away that it didn't appear to be part of the group.
• Photo twenty-one is a White Prickly Poppy.