I just identified a Northern Shrike for the first time. It's been hanging out near my [View all]

[adirondacker]

back deck feeder. They look adorable and innocent...


"A predatory songbird, the Northern Shrike breeds in taiga and tundra and winters in southern Canada and the northern United States. It feeds on small birds, mammals, and insects, sometimes impaling them on spines or barbed wire fences. "

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_shrike/sounds


The first time I saw it, it flew off before I could properly identify it. This time I stepped out and the chickadees were going bizzerk flushing into the thick spruce branches. I looked up into a beech and, there it was scouring over the deck. I'll try and shoot a photo next time I witness it.