[TN-Bird] Lark Sparrow, plus widespread evidence of shrikes (Robertson Co.)

From: Tony Lance <tonylance@xxxxxxx>
To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 14:33:47 -0500
Jan Shaw joined me this morning for a ride around Robertson County, and we had 
a very memorable outing. Our best bird was a Lark Sparrow on Beard's Chapel Rd. 
(Is this early for this species?) But the most exciting thing, for me anyway, 
was the widespread evidence of Loggerhead Shrikes that we found. While we saw 
only three we noticed that we were seeing quite a few June bugs and other 
things cached on the barbed wire fences in the spots I normally go to. So we 
decided to check the fences in a bunch of areas I don't often visit but where I 
think the habitat is good and where I haven't previously been able to find 
shrikes. And the results were downright surprising. Basically we found impaled 
prey items, mostly June bugs, on the fences in about 10 places where I've never 
actually seen birds. Now, this is not the first time I've checked the fences. 
Far from it. But with the abundance of June bugs right now, it appears that the 
shrikes in this area are taking advantage of the bonanza and caching lots of 
them, making it easier to detect these elusive birds indirectly. We also found 
horse flies, frogs, and one bluebird impaled on the barbs as well. Perhaps 
there may be more shrikes in more areas here in Robertson County than I 
realized!

Tony Lance
Springfield, TN


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[TN-Bird] Lark Sparrow, plus widespread evidence of shrikes (Robertson Co.)

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