{"id":109638,"date":"2023-01-16T04:39:23","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T11:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=109638"},"modified":"2026-01-31T14:39:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T20:39:17","slug":"winter-loggerhead-shrike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/16\/winter-loggerhead-shrike\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter Loggerhead Shrike: A Species In Decline"},"content":{"rendered":"

Due to extended gray, cloudy weather and not getting out into the field I dug into my archives and today I am sharing a photo of a winter Loggerhead Shrike. I took this photo almost a year ago on a bright, cold morning when there was actual sunshine.<\/p>\n

\"LoggerheadLoggerhead Shrike in winter \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Last winter I repeatedly saw a single Loggerhead Shrike<\/span><\/a> in the desert habitat where I photographed this shrike up in Box Elder County. I believe it was always the same bird. This species can be quite territorial. We are in danger of losing this species.<\/p>\n

A Species In Decline: Loggerhead Shrikes<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I am concerned that I am seeing fewer Loggerhead Shrikes now than I used to compared to when I first moved to Utah. This species is in steep decline. Between 1966 and 2015, the species declined by almost 3% per year, resulting in a cumulative decline of 76%, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey.<\/p>\n

Northern Utah is rapidly losing excellent habitat that this species uses along the Wasatch Front and desert areas to the west. If another proposed inland port is built in Northpoint near the Salt Lake City Airport<\/span><\/a> this species will lose out on great habitat there too along with many other birds and other wildlife.<\/p>\n

When state lawmakers and greedy businesses place industry growth over people, wildlife, and the environment, it is ultimately a disaster in the making. The lawmakers of the state of Utah have done this repeatedly. Unchecked growth will cause loss of habitat, more pollution, and more of a burden on our already limited freshwater supplies.<\/p>\n

Most of our current lawmakers don’t seem to care about our water crisis, the Great Salt Lake, or protecting our environment. They appear to only focus on short term financial gains and not about the long term impacts on Utahns, the environment, and wildlife.<\/p>\n

Enough. It is time for a change.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Loggerhead Shrike photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Due to extended gray, cloudy weather and not getting out into the field I dug into my archives and today I am sharing a photo of a winter Loggerhead Shrike.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":109644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1148,247,26],"tags":[4004,4098,8086,4171,4066,4104,3906,3907,5245,373],"class_list":["post-109638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-loggerhead-shrikes","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-desert","tag-desert-habitat","tag-lanius-ludovicianus","tag-loggerhead-shrike","tag-perched","tag-shrike","tag-shrikes","tag-territorial","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-winter-mia-mcpherson-9820.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-swm","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":101743,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/04\/23\/loggerhead-shrike-population-decline-concerns\/","url_meta":{"origin":109638,"position":0},"title":"Loggerhead Shrike Population Decline Concerns","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"About two weeks ago I found an adult Loggerhead Shrike perched on a lichen covered rock in northern Utah a good distance from the road that I was on.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Loggerhead Shrike perched on a lichen covered rock, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/loggerhead-shrike-adult-lichen-rocks-mia-mcpherson-6340.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/loggerhead-shrike-adult-lichen-rocks-mia-mcpherson-6340.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":96400,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/10\/18\/autumn-loggerhead-shrike\/","url_meta":{"origin":109638,"position":2},"title":"Autumn Loggerhead Shrike","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"This adult Loggerhead Shrike perched on a Fragrant Sumac was among the birds that I found yesterday morning way up in northern Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Autumn Loggerhead Shrike perched on Fragrant Sumac, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/loggerhead-shrike-perched-on-fall-sumac-mia-mcpherson-1086.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/loggerhead-shrike-perched-on-fall-sumac-mia-mcpherson-1086.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/loggerhead-shrike-perched-on-fall-sumac-mia-mcpherson-1086.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/loggerhead-shrike-perched-on-fall-sumac-mia-mcpherson-1086.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1741,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/01\/02\/northern-loggerhead-shrikes\/","url_meta":{"origin":109638,"position":3},"title":"Northern & Loggerhead Shrikes","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Today was a good day, I finally took some images of a Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor) that weren't taken from too far away.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Northern Shrike on a cold Utah day, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/northern-shrike-utah-mia-mcpherson-0402.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/northern-shrike-utah-mia-mcpherson-0402.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/northern-shrike-utah-mia-mcpherson-0402.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":97409,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/11\/16\/loggerhead-shrike-on-a-wild-rose-in-front-of-the-dying-great-salt-lake\/","url_meta":{"origin":109638,"position":4},"title":"Loggerhead Shrike On A Wild Rose In Front of The Dying Great Salt Lake","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Had I taken these Loggerhead Shrike photos four to five years ago the background wouldn't have been dry lake bed. It would have shown water. Precious, life-giving water.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Loggerhead Shrike perched in front of the dry playa of the Great Salt Lake, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/loggerhead-shrike-adult-wild-rose-bush-mia-mcpherson-4430.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/loggerhead-shrike-adult-wild-rose-bush-mia-mcpherson-4430.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/loggerhead-shrike-adult-wild-rose-bush-mia-mcpherson-4430.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/loggerhead-shrike-adult-wild-rose-bush-mia-mcpherson-4430.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24693,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/05\/27\/loggerhead-shrike-fledglings-are-out-and-about\/","url_meta":{"origin":109638,"position":5},"title":"Loggerhead Shrike Fledglings are Out and About","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"On the 20th of May I saw my first of the year Loggerhead Shrike fledglings but it wasn't until the 24th that I was able to photograph this young shrike.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"First of year photo of a juvenile Loggerhead Shrike, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-4627.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-4627.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-4627.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-4627.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}