{"id":98216,"date":"2021-12-16T05:55:14","date_gmt":"2021-12-16T12:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=98216"},"modified":"2021-12-16T06:08:26","modified_gmt":"2021-12-16T13:08:26","slug":"loggerhead-shrike-at-bear-river-mbr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/12\/16\/loggerhead-shrike-at-bear-river-mbr\/","title":{"rendered":"Loggerhead Shrike At Bear River MBR"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AdultAdult Loggerhead Shrike at Bear River MBR \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 640, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

On my last trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> I found this Loggerhead Shrike perched on a twig near the end of the auto tour loop. Pointing the shrike out was somewhat challenging because at first it blended into the background but by moving a few feet it soon became obvious where the shrike was perched.<\/p>\n

Usually at this time of the year I see overwintering Northern Shrikes at the refuge and fewer Loggerhead Shrikes. I was pleased to find a shrike at all given how few birds I found earlier on the auto tour loop and the blue sky background made this Loggerhead Shrike stand out well.<\/p>\n

Both Loggerhead and Northern Shrikes are predatory songbirds that are also wanna be raptors. Shrikes can carry prey in their bills or with their feet and have earned the nick name of “Butcher Birds” because they\u00a0 impale their prey of insects, small birds, reptiles, and rodents on thorns, twigs, spines, or barbed wire which they use as a larder to cache their food.<\/p>\n

\"LoggerheadLoggerhead Shrike adult at Bear River MBR \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 640, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The light I had that morning at the refuge was still nice when I photographed this bird and the sky was a nice, soft blue because during this time of the year the sun is low on the horizon a bit later in the morning compared to summertime. The shrike flew down to the ground once and then flew to the base of the shrub it had been perched on and then scrambled back to the same perch it had been on just moments earlier.<\/p>\n

During my many years of photographing and observing Loggerhead Shrikes in Florida, Utah, and beyond I have noticed that like some other bird species these small wannabe raptors often have a favorite perch that they will return to over and over. This perch may be one of this shrike’s favorite perches so the next time I head to the refuge you can be sure I will look for it there.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

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

On my last trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I found this Loggerhead Shrike perched on a twig near the end of the auto tour loop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98207,"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":[124,27,1148,247,26],"tags":[4004,5792,970,10598,4620,5025,3035,4171,4066,4094,4104,4502,3906,3907,4018,6046,4095],"class_list":["post-98216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-loggerhead-shrikes","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-auto-tour-loop","tag-autumn","tag-butcher-birds","tag-fall","tag-feathers","tag-fluffy","tag-lanius-ludovicianus","tag-loggerhead-shrike","tag-marsh","tag-perched","tag-shaking","tag-shrike","tag-shrikes","tag-sky","tag-twig","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/loggerhead-shrike-adult-perched-mia-mcpherson-9454.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-py8","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":98216,"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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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":79870,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/02\/27\/loggerhead-shrike-on-a-witness-post\/","url_meta":{"origin":98216,"position":2},"title":"Loggerhead Shrike On A Witness Post","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this week while looking through older photos I came across this Loggerhead Shrike perched on a Witness Post image and I chuckled out loud.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Loggerhead Shrike on a Witness Post, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/loggerhead-shrike-witness-post-mia-mcpherson-5281.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/loggerhead-shrike-witness-post-mia-mcpherson-5281.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/loggerhead-shrike-witness-post-mia-mcpherson-5281.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/loggerhead-shrike-witness-post-mia-mcpherson-5281.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15006,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/05\/20\/loggerhead-shrikes-and-a-few-things-that-bug-them\/","url_meta":{"origin":98216,"position":3},"title":"Loggerhead Shrikes And A Few Things That Bug Them","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 20, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning while Antelope Island there was a Loggerhead Shrike perched on a dead branch that was near the north shoreline of the Great Salt Lake.","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":"One adult Loggerhead Shrike bringing in prey to another, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrikes-prey-mia-mcpherson-7091.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-shrikes-prey-mia-mcpherson-7091.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrikes-prey-mia-mcpherson-7091.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrikes-prey-mia-mcpherson-7091.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40354,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/07\/06\/juvenile-loggerhead-shrike-with-a-robber-fly\/","url_meta":{"origin":98216,"position":4},"title":"Juvenile Loggerhead Shrike with a Robber Fly","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When I took this image the juvenile Loggerhead Shrike was perched on a dead twig when the robber fly flew into the frame, the shrike took off after the fly and caught it in mid air.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Loggerhead Shrike juvenile looking at a Robber Fly, West Desert, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-robber-fly-mia-mcpherson-1272.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-robber-fly-mia-mcpherson-1272.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-robber-fly-mia-mcpherson-1272.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/loggerhead-shrike-robber-fly-mia-mcpherson-1272.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36483,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/02\/29\/loggerhead-shrikes-different-backgrounds-and-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":98216,"position":5},"title":"Loggerhead Shrikes – Different Backgrounds and Light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Both of these Loggerhead Shrikes were photographed on Antelope Island State Park, both of them are adults, both were photographed when the sky was clear and both were perched on a dead twig of a greasewood but they were also photographed with different backgrounds, different times of the morning and\u2026","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":"Perched adult Loggerhead Shrike and clear sky, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, 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