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Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor)
Above and below two: A Northern Shrike at Cromwell Valley Park, Baltimore Co., Maryland (12/29/2007). According to Bob Ringler, this is the first Northern Shrike recorded in the county since 12/2/1894, when one was collected in Dulaney Valley (Kirkwood).
Below: A Northern Shrike on Assateague Island, Maryland (12/5/2010). Found on the Rarity Roundup (11/13) by Mike Walsh and Ron Gutberlet and continuing over a large area around Bayside Campground.
Below two: A Northern Shrike on the edge of Patapsco Valley State Park, Anne Arundel County, Maryland (3/20/2005). Many thanks to Stan Arnold for finding this incredible bird just minutes from my house! After hours of searching for one on the Eastern Shore during preceding weeks, this visitor was an amazing treat.
Below: A subadult Northern Shrike at dawn in eastern Garrett Co., Maryland (12/2/2007).
Below: A very distant Northern Shrike hunts beside a marsh in Garrett Co., Maryland (11/19/2007).
The larger and more northerly inclined of our two shrikes is a rare winter visitor to Maryland. This attractive robin-sized bird is actually a fierce predator, feeding on pretty much anything it can kill. This sometimes includes birds larger than itself! It "catches prey with beak, stuns it, and often impales it on sharp thorns or branches until ready to eat" (Smithsonian's Birds of North America). Watch for this species atop prominent perches, including high in trees like the bird shown here. Note the narrow mask, which does not extend over the eyes or bill, and the distinctly hooked bill, which distinguish it from the similar Loggerhead Shrike.