FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Shrike Portrait and question.

[OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx]

June 15, 2003
Champy Pocket
Reelfoot Lake,
Lake Co. TN

The third great adventure of the weekend, was courtesy of a Loggerhead Shrike 
feeding young. I had seen this bird go into the same brush pile in this tree 
line twice and come out and fly up into a Hackberry. I could not see what it 
was carrying but I finally could make out two youngsters in the tree. When she 
returned for the third time to the brush pile I decided to see how close I 
could get. When the bird went back up, I slid in beside another Hackberry that 
was on one side of the brush pile and waited, camera in hand. The bird dropped 
down again in the pile and started searching. I never saw what the bird was 
taking back up to the babies but I have never seen a bird so intent. 

It never even noticed me sitting there. My camera makes a tone when I'm 
shooting and some noise and this would attract the birds attention and it would 
look straight at me hiding behind the lens. The shots I got are really unusual 
as 
some are full frame just head shots and the one of the bird head on really 
gets me. When I get them together tomorrow (heck it already is tomorrow), I'll 
try to post a few. I really think you will enjoy them but not nearly as much as 
I did with my eye to eye encounter with this bird.

Has anyone every been able to approach these birds like that? I usually find 
them pretty skittish. At times, the bird got to within 3 or 4 feet of me at 
eye level as I hunkered against the tree.

Good Birding!!!

Jeff R. Wilson
OL' COOT / TLBA
Bartlett Tenn.


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