After that little bit of normal winter weather went through yesterday, it turned colder today and I think it was around 18 degrees this morning. I got a later start today not arriving at the park until near 10:30 so it had warmed up slightly by then. I had decided to stay on the outer paved trails today -for more mileage- but on the south side I was persuaded to cut into the wood chip trail when I spotted a nice Red-tailed Hawk perched right over the trail.
He stayed right above me and though I got some better pictures of his face, I decided to post this one which really explains why they are called "Red-tailed." Also from this photo I would say that they have nearly the same ability as an Owl does to turn their head completely around! I hadn't seen much else by the time I crossed Shingle Creek on the north side and decided to walk upstream just for some more exercise. Then I backtracked to the north end of the loop where spotted a Northern Shrike perched at the top of an old dead tree.
This tree -being dead and rotted- had only thick stubby branches left and was not the typical type of tree I normally look for a Shrike to pick. But in true form, he was indeed sitting on one of the top-most parts of the tree, confirming that it's
all about the view for a Shrike. He didn't stay put for long and quickly selected another tall post with a good view. He was in better light now and I was able to catch some halfway decent photos. After all my Shrike sightings this year I still get excited every time I see one. I've even come to recognize them in flight, flying very straight and deliberate with their extra long tail trailing behind.
He stayed right above me and though I got some better pictures of his face, I decided to post this one which really explains why they are called "Red-tailed." Also from this photo I would say that they have nearly the same ability as an Owl does to turn their head completely around! I hadn't seen much else by the time I crossed Shingle Creek on the north side and decided to walk upstream just for some more exercise. Then I backtracked to the north end of the loop where spotted a Northern Shrike perched at the top of an old dead tree. 
This tree -being dead and rotted- had only thick stubby branches left and was not the typical type of tree I normally look for a Shrike to pick. But in true form, he was indeed sitting on one of the top-most parts of the tree, confirming that it's all about the view for a Shrike. He didn't stay put for long and quickly selected another tall post with a good view. He was in better light now and I was able to catch some halfway decent photos. After all my Shrike sightings this year I still get excited every time I see one. I've even come to recognize them in flight, flying very straight and deliberate with their extra long tail trailing behind.
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