Like eagles and falcons, shrikes are birds of prey. However, they aren’t raptors, but are songbirds. Though shrikes have a sharp, hooked beak, they are small and have weak legs. The little shrike ...
Years ago, on one particular winter walk here at the nature center, we were concentrating on birds. We saw many of the "usual suspects" - chickadees, mourning doves, crows, plus a great horned owl and ...
To us “civilized” mammals, some animal behavior can sometimes be construed as downright gruesome. There are behaviors that have been observed by animals in which even the most avid naturalist has been ...
MACLAREN RIVER — Most of us have seen northern shrikes, though few know what sort of bird they are. The shrike species common to Alaska is properly called the northwestern shrike. I grew up calling ...
Last December, as I was crossing the yard at the nature center, I heard an unusual bird song. It came from a small songbird perched near the top of an ash tree west of the barn, overlooking a brushy ...
This bird may look like an innocent garden singer at first glance, but the great grey shrike has more than earned its nickname: The 'Butcher Bird'. It swoops on its prey before impaling it on thorns ...
I love rule breakers. You know, the critters in nature that don’t follow the rules we people lay out for them. A good example of this is the opossum. How crazy is it for a mammal to have their babies ...