Each year, Wake Audubon chooses a bird on which to focus. The species is always one that is locally found in Raleigh and a bird that is under pressure from development and loss of habitat. We learn about the species through articles in our newsletter, lectures and field trips.

    The Bird of the Year Archive:
  • 2009 - The Purple Martin
  • 2008 - The Prothonatary Warbler

 

 

Congratulations to the Loggerhead Shrike,
Wake Audubon’s 2010 Bird of the Year!

 

At quick glance the Loggerhead Shrike resembles a chunky Northern Mockingbird, but a closer look reveals a black mask, white rump, and large head. The "big-headed" appearance is the reason behind its name.

Shrikes are unique in that they are both top level predators and passerines. These birds feed on a variety of prey items, such as small birds and mammals, snakes, invertebrates, frogs, and salamanders. They have some raptor-like features, such as a hooked bill, but lack strong feet and talons for shredding prey. To make up for this, the shrike impales its prey on thorns or barbed wire fences. This behavior allows it to consume prey that is larger than it could otherwise handle, and may also be a way to impress a mate.

Loggerhead Shrikes are found year-round in North Carolina, in open areas such as pastures, open woods, fields, and mowed roadsides. Look for this bird on powerlines and fences around these areas. Pairs are highly territorial and stay together in the breeding territory all year, and solitary birds found in winter are generally believed to be migrants.

Like many species of grassland birds, Loggerhead Shrikes numbers have been falling across their range. Causes of this decline include habitat loss and pesticides. Wake Audubon hopes by selecting this bird as our bird of the year that we can focus some attention on its plight.

 

 

Debra Carr caught a video of the shrike, complete with song! Click here.

 

 

We are having a Shraiku contest as part of Wake Audubon's Year of the Loggerhead Shrike. Shraikus, like Haikus, are highly structured poems composed in 3 lines with a total of 17 syllables. Shraikus must have 5 syllables in lines 1 and 3 and 7 syllables in line 2. The theme of a shraiku must be the Loggerhead Shrike - evoking images or feelings associated with this amazing bird.

How to participate in our Shraiku contest:

  1. Go to our Shraiku post on the WAS blog.
  2. Submit your Shraiku as a comment using the following form:
                Title (all caps)
                Line 1: 5 syllables
                Line 2: 7 syllables
                Line 3: 5 syllables
  3. Post the comment! Be patient, as it may take a few hours for one of our moderators to approve it. (We all work day jobs!)

 

We wish you the best of luck.

May you win first prize.