Loggerhead Shrike

[JL Murray]

Well just when i think the Hawks may have started looking else where, i look out at the gourd racks and there it is.... a Loggerhead Shrike (AKA BUTCHER BIRD) sitting right on top of the perch arms on one of the Gourd Racks.

First Hawks, then last night comes March Snow, and now a Loggerhead Shrike so i am thinking... WHAT NEXT!!!

[Louise Chambers]

that shrike may want some mealworms or crickets - we feed ours giant mealworms, along with the mockers and woodpeckers. They don't bother the martins, but we keep them well fed.

[JL Murray]

that shrike may want some mealworms or crickets - we feed ours giant mealworms, along with the mockers and woodpeckers. They don't bother the martins, but we keep them well fed.

Whewwww, THANK YOU Louise!

I guess i can stop ranting now and save the heart attack for another catastrophic event... LOL

I was worried that they were wanting a Martin for a Snack!!!

[Louise Chambers]

Well, never say never - I would think a grounded nestling would be fair game to a shrike (or many other predators), and a LA landlord had an adult bird nailed by a shrike last month. But, we have never had a problem with shrikes here, and I think martins are too large to be a prey item most of the time. So I don't think you need to worry. Mike Scully in San Antonio commented many times about shrikes that nested in hedge next to school martin colony, and never bothered the martins.

[DornCounty]

yeah a shrike isn't much bigger than a martin.. don't see how they would be much of a threat.

[ROBINMOULIERE]

If you do find a martin that is just head and wings left, it was probably a shrike. The shrike here tore off the breast after it poked holes in her head as she sat on her porch. She never had a chance, sadly. It was visously disturbing and fast my husband said. If the shrike hangs around....feed it, please. It may be hungry.

[Steve Kroenke]

I have observed loggerhead shrikes around my martin colonies for a number of years and have never seen any problems so far. There was a shrike back in February that often perched on my gourd racks with many martins around and there was little interaction. On occasion a martin would make a "mobbing pass" at the shrike and the shrike would leave.

Shrikes could pose a threat to any martin nestling on a porch or fledgling on the ground or sick/injured adult. Any small young songbird in a vulnerable location could be attacked by a hungry shrike. Shrikes often carry their prey to an impaling site so the prey needs to be small enough to carry in flight. Large martin young or an adult martin may be too big to fly off with. But a hungry shrike may still kill and eat its prey on the ground if the prey is to too large to carry in flight.

Here is a link to a posting I made about loggerhead shrikes; it might be of interest:

http://purplemartin.org/forum/viewtopic ... tcher+bird

Steve

[RC Moser]

Didn't somebody from texas post couple weeks ago witnessing Loggerhead killing Female PM right of her house?

[JL Murray]

I have observed loggerhead shrikes around my martin colonies for a number of years and have never seen any problems so far. There was a shrike back in February that often perched on my gourd racks with many martins around and there was little interaction. On occasion a martin would make a "mobbing pass" at the shrike and the shrike would leave.

Shrikes could pose a threat to any martin nestling on a porch or fledgling on the ground or sick/injured adult. Any small young songbird in a vulnerable location could be attacked by a hungry shrike. Shrikes often carry their prey to an impaling site so the prey needs to be small enough to carry in flight. Large martin young or an adult martin may be too big to fly off with. But a hungry shrike may still kill and eat its prey on the ground if the prey is to too large to carry in flight.

Here is a link to a posting I made about loggerhead shrikes; it might be of interest:

http://purplemartin.org/forum/viewtopic ... tcher+bird

Steve

Very helpful and informative article to read, Thanks!

[Laverne]

Mike and I were walking around our house, looking at all the trees, checking on their progress. We noticed 4 or 5 different sites where insects had been impaled on small twigs projecting from larger limbs on some of our trees. A week ago we noticed a small lizard hanging the same way. This is the work of a Loggerheaded Shrike. Why do you suppose they need to impale their meal on a twig before they can eat it?

We have a resident pair sharing the territory around our colony of Purple Martins and have never witnessed any kind of confrontation between the two species. The Purple Martins pretty much ignore the Shrike as well as the Mockingbird.

[JL Murray]

Mike and I were walking around our house, looking at all the trees, checking on their progress. We noticed 4 or 5 different sites where insects had been impaled on small twigs projecting from larger limbs on some of our trees. A week ago we noticed a small lizard hanging the same way. This is the work of a Loggerheaded Shrike. Why do you suppose they need to impale their meal on a twig before they can eat it?

We have a resident pair sharing the territory around our colony of Purple Martins and have never witnessed any kind of confrontation between the two species. The Purple Martins pretty much ignore the Shrike as well as the Mockingbird.

What i have read is that the Shrikes impale their prey because they lack the claws that Raptors have to hold it firmly while tearing into it with their hooked beaks.

[DebA]

That is interesting. I figured it was their method of curing.