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Flegdling Loggerhead Shrikes (Submitted Photo by Chet Neufeld) “Young Loggerhead Shrikes - threatened, prairie songbirds - are going to be out over the next couple of weeks near their nests, learning to perfect their hunting and impaling skills,” says Rebecca Magnus, Habitat Stewardship Coordinator with Nature Saskatchewan. “This is probably the most fascinating time to observe shrikes as the young may be in groups of 4 to 7, clumsily hunting and impaling prey, not going too far from their nests”. Butchers hang their meat to dry, and so too does the Loggerhead Shrike. Magnus explains, “instead of storing their meat in a meat locker as a butcher would, these birds impale and hang their prey on barbed wire fences, thorny shrubs, and trees, affording them the nickname ‘butcher bird’”. The shrike’s prey items include beetles, grasshoppers, garter snakes, mice, voles, frogs, and even other smaller songbirds. Similar to birds of prey Loggerhead Shrikes have hooked bea
Pipits are most commonly found on blocks of native prairie larger than 160 acres (65 hectares). They require vegetation that is not too tall and dense nor too short and sparse, with some litter. Examples of preferred sites include lightly to moderately grazed, or periodically burned fields. “It is by knowing how particular they are with their breeding grounds that they are a very important identifier of ecosystem health and habitat change”, says Rebecca Magnus, Habitat Stewardship Coordinator at Nature Saskatchewan. Once pipits find their preferred nesting area, they begin to weave dry grasses together in a cup shape on the ground and hide their nest by forming a dome of long grasses over top. The females then lay eggs between mid-May to mid-July, incubating 3-6 eggs for 10-12 days. The young then leave the nest 10-14 days after hatching. By mid-October all will have left for their winter destination in the warmer south.
Burrowing Owls have returned to the prairies after a long migration from their wintering grounds in Texas and Mexico. Breeding season is currently underway for these endangered owls. The female . . .
Burrowing Owls have returned to the prairies after a long migration from their wintering grounds in Texas and Mexico. Breeding season is currently underway for these endangered owls. The female . . .