Tag Archives: loggerhead shrike north carolina

The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Loggerhead Shrikes in the Sandhills of North Carolina

By Sally Siko

A couple of weeks ago, I set out on a soggy Saturday morning to go birding at the Sandhills Gamelands in central NC.
Although it poured rain for the first two hours of the day, seeing these Loggerhead Shrikes made venturing into deluge worth it!
Normally Shrikes are difficult to approach (especially in open areas) but I think the birds were less inclined move due to the stormy weather.
It was neat to get a look at them from such a close range.


Aa predatory songbirds the Northern Shrikes diet consists primarily of mice, voles, grasshoppers and other insects. Like their cousin the Northern Shrike, they’ll occasionally eat other songbirds as well when the opportunity presents itself.
It gets crazier than that though!
Because they lack strong talons or claws, shrikes often impale food on branches, thorns or barbed wire fences to help them tear their prey into bite-sized pieces.
For this grisly meat hanging characteristic, shrikes have earned the moniker of “butcher birds”.
Though it’s indeed an unsettling means to a meal, it behavioral adaptations like these which ensure the Shrikes survival.


Their favored habitats include wide open, tall grassy fields, overgrown hedge rows and agricultural areas where their prey is found.
Usually they are spotted sitting on dead tree snags, on fence lines and power lines overlooking the fields, constantly scanning the ground below for a snack.

Interestingly, this is the third year in a row that I’ve encountered the pair of Shrikes at this location during early March.
I’ve since visited the Gamelands a few times during the summertime to see if they around but with no luck.
This makes sense because although
Loggerhead Shrikes may generally be found throughout the central and eastern regions of Tarheel State year round, the highest amount of recorded sightings annually occur just a bit further south closer to the SC border during the summer months.
It really was nice to catch an early glimpse of this tiny predator once again!

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

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Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Northern Shrikes at the Sandhills Gamelands in North Carolina

By Sally Siko

Today I decided to head over to the Sandhills Gamelands in Scotland County, NC for some fresh air and birding.
While there wasn’t much flying around (March sucks for birds around here lol!) I did manage to find a pair of Loggerhead Shrikes.
Yeah, I know that these photos aren’t “pretty” yet, the fact that this bird was sitting on a bare tree branch is indicative of where you’re most likely to spot one here in NC.Given that these guys usually fly off as soon as I see them, I was surprised that I was able to get so close to this bird from my vantage point below his perch to get a good close up look at him.Someday I’ll get that “beauty shot” but today I’ll take what I can get and happily add this species to my yearly list!



Loggerhead Shrikes are predatory songbirds. Their diet consists primarily of mice, voles, grasshoppers and other insects and like their cousin the Northern Shrike, they occasionally will eat other songbirds as well when the opportunity presents itself.
It gets crazier than that though!Because they lack strong talons or claws, shrikes often impale food on branches, thorns or barbed wire fences to help them tear their prey into bite-sized pieces. For this grisly meat hanging characteristic, shrikes have earned the moniker of “butcher birds”.*I prefer “murder floof” but I guess “butcher bird” sounds more intimidating idk, lol!



Their favored habitats include wide open, tall grassy fields, overgrown hedge rows and agricultural areas where their prey is found.Usually they are spotted sitting on dead tree snags, on fence lines and power lines overlooking the fields, constantly scanning the ground below for a snack.
Though Loggerhead Shrikes may be found throughout the central and eastern regions of Tarheel State year round, the highest amount of recorded sightings occur in the south central counties of NC (near the SC border) during the spring & summer months.Because I don’t usually see them here in the central NC so early on in the spring, it really was a nice surprise to catch a glimpse of this tiny predator.

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Field Notes, Out There with the Expert

Spending time with a Loggerhead Shrike in Raleigh North Carolina

By: Sally Siko- Admin BWNC

I got up early in the morning to get in a little birding last weekend and ended up spotting a Loggerhead Shrike near Lake Wheeler Rd. in Raleigh NC.

Yeah, I know that these photos aren’t “pretty” yet, the fact that this bird was sitting on a power line is indicative of where you’re most likely to spot one here in NC.
Given that these guys usually fly off as soon as we see them, I was surprised that I was able to get so close to this bird from my vantage point below his perch to get a good close up look at him.
Someday I’ll get that “beauty shot” but today I’ll take what I can get and happily add this species to my yearly list!

Loggerhead Shrikes are predatory songbirds. Their diet consists primarily of mice, voles, grasshoppers and other insects and like their cousin the Northern Shrike, they occasionally will eat other songbirds as well when the opportunity presents itself.
It gets crazier than that though!
Because they lack strong talons or claws, shrikes often impale food on branches, thorns or barbed wire fences to help them tear their prey into bite-sized pieces. For this grisly meat hanging characteristic, shrikes have earned the moniker of “butcher birds”.
*I prefer “murder floof” but I guess “butcher bird” sounds more intimidating idk, lol!

Their favored habitats include wide open, tall grassy fields, overgrown hedge rows and agricultural areas where their prey is found.
Usually they are spotted sitting on the fence lines (and power lines) overlooking the fields, constantly scanning the ground below for a snack.

Though Loggerhead Shrikes may be found throughout the central and eastern regions of Tarheel State year round, the highest amount of recorded sightings occur in the south central counties of NC (near the SC border) during the spring & summer months.
Because I don’t usually see them here in the Triangle in the winter, it really was a nice surprise to catch a glimpse of this tiny predator.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa#R5