I was able to relocate the Shrike in Rockingham county today and take some more
photos. The photos are not great unfortunately. The bird was fairly distant and
the lighting poor. In the scope I saw white across the top of the bill and I
believe there was black between bill and white stripe. White above the eye and
prominent gray barring across the breast. These field marks were very clear in
the scope but are not very clear in the photos. Hopefully these field marks are
enough to id the bird but would like to hear input from folks who have
experience with Northern Shrikes. Re-reading the Sibley article I am once again
amazed at how tricky this id can be. Hopefully others will get better photos.
Here is a link to 3 of the photos on Flickr. There are 6 total on Flickr.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/34227153@N06/23951578095/in/dateposted-ff/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/34227153@N06/23324814723/in/dateposted-ff/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/34227153@N06/23324814723/in/dateposted-ff/
Input on id is welcome!!!!
best,
William Leigh leightern@xxxxxxx
Bridgewater, Virginia