December 23rd Birding

I decided to try and find a Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor) today. The Northern Shrike is a predatory songbird which breeds in the tundra and overwinters 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 This led me to a series of back country roads through agricultural lands, but I came up empty handed. I did happen to see a few other predatory birds in the area, including a pretty little kestrel and a large Snowy Owl.

American Kestrel (Falco sparverius), Washtenaw County, MI