I first saw a Northern Shrike last March when he visited my feeders. Click here to read that post. The photo above and the photo in the header were taken last year as he sat on one of the 4x4 posts that my feeders hang from. This year a Shrike showed up in early January. A predatory songbird, the Northern Shrike breeds in taiga and tundra and most of the time winters in southern Canada and the northern United States. It normally arrives back in Fairbanks in late March or early April, but sometimes overwinters here. Remember you can click on the photos to enlarge them. 
Twice the Shrike managed to capture a Redpoll on my deck. Since then, I have moved a low-hanging thistle feeder to a higher hook on the outer side of the posts. Because the Shrike seizes its prey close to the ground I hope the new position of the thistle feeder has allowed the Redpolls a better escape route. I've seen the Shrike fly in several times since then, but I haven't seen him catch one of the little birds, so hopefully my strategy has worked. I have never seen him eat any of the seeds or suet that I have in my feeders. 
In the photo above he is taking the time to preen his feathers, pretending that he really just popped in to sit a spell. In the photo below he looks very much like the bird of prey that he is. The look in his eye is one you see in the larger hawks and eagles. Notice his hooked beak that adds to his menacing look.
Birds of prey are a part of nature's scheme, and play an important role in the balance of nature. We all thrill to the sight of an eagle or a hawk flying majestically through the sky, but their role in nature is that of a hunter. Humans tend to imbue animals with human emotions, but the birds take it all in stride. Within a very short time after the Shrike has swooped in, the Redpolls are all back at the feeders again, chirping and eating away, filling up on the seeds that mean their survival in our harsh winter weather. While the hunt is all part of the scheme of nature, I really do prefer not to watch the drama happening in front of my window!
The Shrike will typically perch atop a tall tree or shrub, appearing harmless. It sometimes sings a pleasing and rhythmical song, belying its true nature, which it reveals the instant a mouse or small bird moves within its range of attack. The Shrike feeds on small birds, mammals, and insects and sometimes impales them on spines or barbed wire fences to eat them. That habit has caused it to be called the Butcher Bird. It generally sits and waits on an exposed perch and seizes prey near the ground with feet or bill. It may consume its prey right away, or may save it for later consumption. The Northern Shrike, like other shrikes, will kill more prey than it can immediately eat or feed to nestlings. Such behavior was characterized by early observers as "wanton killing," but the Northern Shrike stores excess prey to eat later. Storing food is an adaptation for surviving periods of food scarcity. Population trends are difficult to assess because of the Northern Shrike's rarity and remoteness of its breeding habitat. 
