{"id":4274,"date":"2012-02-03T06:54:01","date_gmt":"2012-02-03T13:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=4274"},"modified":"2026-01-30T12:43:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T18:43:17","slug":"loggerhead-shrike-expelling-a-pellet-friday-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/02\/03\/loggerhead-shrike-expelling-a-pellet-friday-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Loggerhead Shrike expelling a pellet – Friday Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

\"LoggerheadLoggerhead Shrike expelling a pellet\u00a0 –\u00a0 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<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Pointing this shrike out was easy because it was out in the open.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I loved the\u00a0wonderful 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.<\/p>\n

\"TheLoggerhead Shrike –\u00a0 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<\/span><\/p>\n

While watching and photographing 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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 catch light.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe pellet is in the Loggerhead Shrike\u2019s bill –\u00a0 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<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0In 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.<\/p>\n

\"Loggerhead\u00a0 Loggerhead Shrike ~ pellet expulsion completed –\u00a0Nikon 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<\/span><\/p>\n

It isn’t everyday that I get to see and photograph a\u00a0Loggerhead Shrike<\/span><\/a> expelling a 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.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

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

It isn’t everyday that I get to see and photograph a Loggerhead Shrike expelling a pellet!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,27,1022,247,26],"tags":[1192,4942,4171,4066,392,1075,3906,3907],"class_list":["post-4274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-loggerhead-shrikes","category-utah","tag-bolus","tag-expelling","tag-lanius-ludovicianus","tag-loggerhead-shrike","tag-pellet","tag-pellet-expulsion","tag-shrike","tag-shrikes"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/loggerhead-shrike-bolus-mia-mcpherson-0399.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-16W","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":4274,"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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/loggerhead-shrike-adult-lichen-rocks-mia-mcpherson-6340.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/loggerhead-shrike-adult-lichen-rocks-mia-mcpherson-6340.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109638,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/16\/winter-loggerhead-shrike\/","url_meta":{"origin":4274,"position":1},"title":"Winter Loggerhead Shrike: A Species In Decline","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Loggerhead Shrike in winter, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-winter-mia-mcpherson-9820.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-winter-mia-mcpherson-9820.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-winter-mia-mcpherson-9820.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-winter-mia-mcpherson-9820.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4927,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/05\/06\/a-loggerhead-shrike-and-its-prey\/","url_meta":{"origin":4274,"position":2},"title":"Loggerhead Shrike And Its Prey","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 6, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"A few weeks ago I was able to photograph a Loggerhead Shrike near the marina on Antelope Island State Park, Utah. It was an interesting experience for several reasons.","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":"Loggerhead Shrike opening its bill, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-mia-mcpherson-6369.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-mia-mcpherson-6369.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-mia-mcpherson-6369.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-mia-mcpherson-6369.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4707,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/04\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-perched-on-moth-mullein\/","url_meta":{"origin":4274,"position":3},"title":"Loggerhead Shrike Perched On Wand Mullein","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","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":"Loggerhead Shrike perched on a Moth Mullein, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-mullein-mia-mcpherson-9746.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-mullein-mia-mcpherson-9746.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-mullein-mia-mcpherson-9746.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-mullein-mia-mcpherson-9746.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":4274,"position":4},"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":2061,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/03\/10\/antelope-island-loggerhead-shrikes\/","url_meta":{"origin":4274,"position":5},"title":"Antelope Island Loggerhead Shrikes","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I wrote that I was looking forward to the birds that arrive here in the spring and yesterday I was able to photograph some of the Loggerhead Shrikes that I mentioned.","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":"Loggerhead Shrike in early spring, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, 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