By Mia McPherson, on May 6th, 2012% A few weeks ago I was able to photograph a Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) near the marina on Antelope Island State Park, Utah. It was an interesting experience for several reasons.
 Loggerhead Shrike with its bill open - Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 800, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 357mm, natural light When I first spotted the Shrike it was perched on top of a Rabbitbrush and I was able to get several images of the bird before it dove into the base of another nearby bush. I thought it was going to expel a pellet when I took this frame, but it didn’t.
 Loggerhead Shrike side view - Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 800, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 357mm, natural light After a few moments the Shrike appeared on top of another Rabbitbrush adjacent to the one it had dived underneath. I wanted to get clear images of the bird’s tail without the foreground obstructions so I hoped it would move to another location.
 Loggerhead Shrike preening - Nikon D300, f9, 1/800, ISO 800, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 357mm, natural light The Loggerhead preened for a bit, it looks like it also needed to clean the blood from a recent meal from its bill too.
 Loggerhead Shrike hunched down with an eye on the sky - Nikon D300, f8, 1/1000, ISO 800, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 321mm, natural light As I photographed the Shrike it suddenly hunched down, getting close to the bush it was perched on and I could tell that it was looking at something above and behind me but the roof of the “mobile blind” was in the way so I wasn’t sure what it was.
 Loggerhead Shrike watching a Common Raven fly by - Nikon D300, f8, 1/1000, ISO 800, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 321mm, natural light By the time I created this frame I could tell that the Shrike was watching a Common Raven fly by, I’m fairly certain that Ravens do not prey on adult Loggerhead Shrikes but they may prey on their young. I have seen this hunkering down behavior in Loggerhead Shrikes before.
 Loggerhead Shrike with prey in its bill - Nikon D300, f8, 1/1250, ISO 800, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited Within just a few moments after the Raven flew out of range the Shrike dove into the base of the same Rabbitbrush it had been underneath before, at first I thought it went into the bush for safety reasons but I was soon to find out why it had been returning to that bush. When the Loggerhead flew out of the bush I could tell it had something in its bill, I quickly zoomed all the way out, locked on focus and was able to fire off four images as the Shrike perched briefly on a dried out Sunflower stalk. A pretty messy environment but I felt the image was interesting because of the prey in the bill.
The bird flew off and out of sight so I got out of the mobile blind and went over to the bush the Shrike had gone into both times with one of my backup D200′s that has my Nikkor 18-200mm VR lens attached to it.
 The Loggerhead Shrike's impaled prey - Nikon D200, handheld, f11, 1/45, ISO 250, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 200mm, natural light I was tickled to find the Shrike’s prey impaled on the bush, they cache prey that way. Think of it as a Shrike’s pantry, they know just where to go when they get hungry again.
The day was partly overcast which is why I used a high ISO for the Shrike images to get the shutter speeds I thought I might need and also why I was using positive exposure compensation.
It pays to observe your subject, to learn their behaviors and to not start up the engine to pull away too quick or I would have missed the shot of the Shrike with the prey in the bill. Having patience is a MUST in bird photography.
Mia
More Loggerhead Shrike images
By Mia McPherson, on April 1st, 2012% I’ve been seeing more and more Loggerhead Shrikes (Lanius ludovicianus) pairing up the past week or so which means it won’t be long before they are on their nests.
 Loggerhead Shrike perched on a Moth Mullein - Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 640, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light When I photographed this Loggerhead Shrike perched on the dried Moth Mullein (Verbascum blattaria) stalk there was another Shrike perched about 20 to 25 feet away. I’ve noticed a pair of the birds there for about two weeks now. Hopefully they will build their nest in this location and I will be able to photograph their young.
Mia
More Loggerhead Shrike images
By Mia McPherson, on March 13th, 2012% Today I thought I would post a few images taken this past week from Antelope Island State Park and the west desert in Tooele County. Feathers & Fur.
 Coyote in morning light on Antelope Island- Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or called in Right before I photographed this Coyote (Canis latrans) it had eaten four Voles from the base on a wild Sunflower. I couldn’t get any decent images of it then because it was well hidden behind the Sunflower stalks but when it wandered towards the other Coyote I could see in the distance it stopped and looked towards me where I had a relatively unobstructed view.
 Male Horned Lark in Tooele County - Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light Yesterday I was in the west desert in Tooele County with high hopes of seeing and photographing Golden Eagles, Prairie Falcons, Ferruginous and Red-tailed Hawks. It wasn’t to be though, I think the strong south winds were keeping them hunkered down. The one Red-tailed Hawk I photographed was just a bit too far away to create decent images where the details were plainly evident. I still didn’t go away empty handed because this male Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) posed for me briefly.
 Pronghorn Doe on a hilltop on Antelope Island - Nikon D200, f10, 1/1000, ISO 640, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x Tc at 400mm, natural light I love Pronghorns (Antilocapra americana), they are beautiful, graceful and I photograph them at every opportunity. I sure thought this doe looked stunning against the snow covered mountains in the background while looking at me from a hilltop.
 Loggerhead Shrike calling, Antelope Island - Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 640, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light I have been seeing more Loggerhead Shrikes (Lanius ludovicianus) calling from the tops of bushes and trees lately and have also been seeing them pair up. This one was calling in the early morning light and quite loudly too! They are such handsome birds.
 Frosty Bison on Antelope Island - Nikon D200, handheld, f11, 1/250, ISO 400, -1.0 EV, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 90mm, natural light I had hoped to photograph Bison this winter where the where the foreground and background was all snow covered in beautiful, dramatic light. With the “Winter that Wasn’t” that didn’t happen. I did create some images though were the Bison had some frost on them. Maybe we will get one final snow before spring pushes Old Man Winter out the door. You just never know!
Mia
By Mia McPherson, on February 3rd, 2012% Loggerhead Shrikes are interesting birds, they are classified as song birds but they also have raptor like behaviors in my opinion. They are fierce, handsome and they can be quite vocal. I usually hear them just before I see them.
Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) expelling a pellet ~ Davis County, Utah
Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or set up
Yesterday I spotted this Loggerhead Shrike singing away on a branch of a tree, it was really raising a ruckus and it sounded like these Shrike’s do when they are in mating season. With as little “winter” as we have had this year maybe the birds and animals are getting confused.
Anyway, I loved the wonderful setting I found this bird in, out in the open, no distracting branches and the background was so distant that I knew I’d get a nice, smooth look to the background because of the bokeh of my lens. This might look like a typical Bird on a Stick (BOAS) set up shot because of that, but this is completely natural and taken in the wild.
Loggerhead Shrike
Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or set up
While watching and photography the Shrike’s behavior I could tell that it might regurgitate a pellet because it would open its bill without any sound which seems to be an early indicator of pellet expulsion. Pellet expulsion occurs rapidly so I didn’t want to take my eye off of the bird. I should have looked at my EV settings though. I really didn’t need +0.7 exposure compensation, I could have gotten away without making any adjustment to my compensation but I was able to reduce the brightness in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) easily because I shoot in RAW.
In the image above the pellet can be seen in the throat at the base of the bill, when this behavior happens the Shrike almost always has its head pointing down which often means the lack of light in the eye but in this case because of the angle of the sun I was able to get a catchlight.
Loggerhead Shrike
Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or set up
In the image above the pellet has moved further towards the tip of the bill and the bird appears to be struggling a bit less in the process.
Loggerhead Shrike ~ pellet expulsion completed
Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or set up
These images represent four out of five frame that I took while this Loggerhead Shrike was regurgitating the pellet. If I had reached for my coffee, sneezed or even glanced away from the bird I would have missed this behavior and getting these photographs.
Mia
More Loggerhead Shrike images
By Mia McPherson, on June 2nd, 2011% 
Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) perched in sagebrush and rabbitbush
Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Nikon D200, f8, 1/640, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
There are days when I see a certain species of birds quite often, depending on location it might be an Eagle filled day, or a Shorebird day. Today was a Shrike kind of day on Antelope Island State Park. I like those kind of days because you can often find the birds with different types of backgrounds and because it is breeding season right now there are usually pairs of birds in close proximity to each other.
In the photo above the vegetation is Sagebrush and Rabbitbush in the foreground and the brownish-red tufts in the background I believe are Cheatgrass, an introduced and invasive species from Eurasia. Still, the colors of the Cheatgrass are pretty.
Not the typical Bird on a Stick (BOAS) image but one I find very appealing because of the depth the surrounding habitat provides in the frame.
Loggerhead Shrikes are a perching bird but they look more like a small raptor because of their hooked bills. Their black, white and soft gray plumage looks handsome to me especially against the soft greens of sagebrush and rabbitbush.
Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) looking down
Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Nikon D200, f8, 1/500, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
Today the light was iffy because of a bank of clouds hanging over the mountains to the east that often blocked the sunlight but it broke through often enough to get good light on these Shrikes. It was a challenge though trying change the EV compensation because the light was changing constantly. Still, despite the challenges I think it was a great bird photography day… especially for Loggerhead Shrikes.
Mia
More Loggerhead Shrike images
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