Homeport is the Chesapeake Bay area, but we hightailed it out of there to get away from the cold and snow and are now presently camping in sunny, warm Florida. So starting with this post and ongoing until I return home in couple weeks, I’ll share what I’m capturing in Florida.
After finally arriving and setting up camp, we decided to take a quick run around the grounds before crashing from the long drive. And, of course, I took my camera!
Immediately, I saw a bird I thought might be a Shrike but wasn’t positive. A few posts back on my Snowy Owl photo share, while happily shooting the owl, a group of birders got a ‘rare-bird alert’ that a Shrike was near by and off they went! Did I want to go, they asked? I was so engrossed with the Snowy Owl, I didn’t care about the Shrike and politely declined.
Well, now I do, now that there’s no Snowy Owl. 🙂 I’m aware of two species of Shrikes, the Loggerhead and the Northern.
This is the Loggerhead Shrike, and he is a newbie for my bird lifer list. He has a much heavier black mask than the Northern Shrike and a white patch on his wing that the Northern does not have.
The next day I spotted ‘him’ again. Then another one and then two. I now know there are several here in and around a group of trees and small lake, not just ‘him’. Funny, I thought ‘he’ was gettin’ around pretty good for me seeing him so much.
I luckily got a chance to photograph the following Loggerhead Shrike who didn’t seem to mind. Oh, you can bet he kept his eye on me though. After a half-dozen shots, I’d slowly move a few steps closer, then do another half-dozen. He continued to pose and I continued to slowly move several steps closer. I was able to get with 10-12 feet of him, filling my frame.
It was exciting and so are my results! I have so many great shots, but will spare you with just a couple.
What a beauty! I whispered my “Thank You” to him and walked away. I’m guessing I’ll continue to see this group of Loggerhead Shrikes while I’m here, what fun! Now the challenge is on to capture one in flight.
