Northern Shrike

[FlyingSquirrel]

Today I am sharing a simple portrait shot of a very cool species of bird, the Northern Shrike. While it may not be visually spectacular (although I think it is very attractive), it is interesting in its habits. Past its unassuming appearance, are some gruesome details, in that it is a predatory song bird.

The shrike preys upon insects, small mammals, reptiles, and other birds. It seizes them with its beak and/or feet, biting the meal to kill it. It will sometimes then impale the prey on a sharp object, such as a plant thorn, or barbed wire, and then continue to feed, or return at a later time to feast.

I photographed this individual at a great new location that I discovered (and will continue to visit as often as I can, despite the 1 hour drive each way). This time, I was working from a pop up hunting blind, and wearing camouflage. I was actually waiting for Short-Eared Owls, which unfortunately did not take up the perch I had staked out, but when the Shrike appeared, I was extremely excited. Since I had set up at a distance ideal for fitting the owls in frame, I was a bit farther from the Shrike than I would have liked.

In the photo, you can clearly see the sharp, hooked bill, which aids it in capturing and killing its prey. Additionally, there are blood streaks on its breast and tail, from a recent meal.

A few things that I do not like about the photo are: The feet are not visible due to the way the bird is perched, and the background is not ideal. Though the bg is clean, I would have preferred something brown or green, with a little structure to suggest the birds environment. I will work on getting more pictures of this species, as I am extremely fond of it, and would like to get some shots of one with prey items, and especially with the impaling behavior illustrated.

Full size view is recommended for best sharpness/detail. Hope you enjoy.

[Stagecoach]

Very nice Matt, at full size I certainly appreciated the sharpness.

Grahame

[Downrigger]

Beautiful image. Great sharpness at 700mm. A wonderfully intimate look at this bird. Best part of my CiC visit today.
I enjoy and appreciate the ornithologic background.
I will have to hit a few 7-11s and get up some cash for glass but your result is clearly more than optical reach - you plainly have a serious routine for field work and I'd like to hear more about how you set up for a stake out like this.
I would think you would use the radial filter in LR or control points in some other program to adjust the background brightness and hue to something closer to your preference(?)
Thanks for this one.

[Shadowman]

Very nice.

[bnnrcn]

I like it very much Matt

[Bobobird]

Well shot and processed. But then we expect that from Matt.

[NorthernFocus]

Well executed shot, Matt. I've never seen one of these guys. Or at least not that I recognized it at the time.. Beautifully simple perch, no distractions, and the techs are good. I agree a contrasting BG would have been preferable as would visible feet. But those are perfections to add another time. For what you had to work with you made the most of it. Nice job.

Sorry the owls didn't show. I'm waiting to see what you do with them

[deetheturk]

Nice capture Matt,this is a first for me and hope it won't be the last,keep them coming bud

[Digital]

Matt, this is a very good capture. Nice narrative as well.



Bruce

[John 2]

Accepting your own self crit, the only comment I would add is that you perhaps don't need all of the space on the RHS. Otherwise this is a stunning capture.

[klovibond]

Excellent Matt, and personally I prefer the space on the right for the bird to "look into"

[Saorsa]

Good shot, very similar to our loggerhead shrike here in FL.

I still think these little guys should be classified as mini-raptors. Pure hunters with the beak to go with it.

[Wavelength]

This is quite enjoyable; i really love this

[jamn4ex]

A great capture! Thanks for the lesson on shrikes I don't think we have them here in the smokys. Would love to here how you tempt owls to a perch.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Beautiful image. Great sharpness at 700mm. A wonderfully intimate look at this bird. Best part of my CiC visit today.
I enjoy and appreciate the ornithologic background.
I will have to hit a few 7-11s and get up some cash for glass but your result is clearly more than optical reach - you plainly have a serious routine for field work and I'd like to hear more about how you set up for a stake out like this.
I would think you would use the radial filter in LR or control points in some other program to adjust the background brightness and hue to something closer to your preference(?)
Thanks for this one.

Thanks for the comments. To briefly hit on some points:

Yes, the 500mm f4 IS II + 1.4 extender is ridiculously sharp and superbly high quality. That combo produces much higher quality photos than my 400mm 5.6L, and that lens is really nice. Anyone that uses this combo and says that it produces soft images is on drugs (though I have not seen the results from the older versions of the lens and extender, which were most likely less quality)

My mind is blown with everything regarding the 500 f4; I don't regret making the purchase at all. You can always rent a lens like this if it is out of reach financially, assuming you have some insurance that will cover it if the worst should happen.

I'm glad that you pointed out the whole "more than optical reach" thing, because there are SO MANY people that think wildlife photography is just about having a giant lens. That is so NOT true in any way; the lens can help, but if you don't know how to use the gear properly, have bad technique, don't do any research or planning, don't get out in the field at the right time, and don't improve your field craft by knowing the subject and learning new things....well then, you just have a really expensive rig that looks pretty, plus some crappy photos. Ok, I am done ranting, for now.

Regarding reach, I should point out also that, for small birds and animals, it almost always seems you wish you had more of it. The shot in this thread is actually cropped quite a bit. I don't really know how far away I was from the bird, but the size in frame was right at the edge of trash bin consideration. After thinking about it, the photo composition and bird size, as shot in frame, was to my liking enough that I decided to keep it, though much larger in frame would be desirable. As far as the bg in this shot, I did increase the blues just a tiny bit, and found the result acceptable. Too much more and it looked fake / weird to me. The bg is actually growing on me a little bit now.

Moving on to what you asked about field work: I don't have that much of a routine yet, as I am still learning, and trying new things. To be totally honest, the majority of my best bird shots are lucky situations where the animal allowed me to get closer, or where it approached me. Camo and blind have helped on occasion (the Pika photos I posted a while back were with camo, and it helped A LOT). The most critical thing about camo and/or blinds is location. You really need to have an idea of where animals are going to be, and when. So that comes down to scouting the location and visiting/watching at least a few times, so you can pattern their behavior (and also knowing something about the species is key).

Lately I have been networking with photographers and finding new locations, hence exposing myself to much better opportunities than previously. With that, I am excited to go to these great locations more often, and see what is there, and then have the opportunity to work the subjects with blind and camo, properly. In the past, I just set up a blind or wore camo randomly, hoping things would come by. You will get lucky with that on occasion, but the research is where it's at, as I am learning. Also, I am going to move to more advanced techniques with audio calls and various things. Some people dislike doing that, but I'm ok with it because I know that I respect the animals and will do everything with great care, to minimize any complications or detrimental effects. Wearing camo and using a blind is best for the animal, as it reduces stress while allowing closer shots. Even when working from a blind, I prefer to wear complete camo, facemask, gloves, etc, as there is still an opening where I am looking out of the blind around the lens, and the animals could look in and be spooked if you aren't covered in camo. Just covering all the bases.

For this location, I had been there morning, afternoon, and evening, on a few different occasions. I had watched the owls and studied their behavior and favored perches, time of day, etc. From that observation, I determined the best tree to stake out, and the angle and time of day. Then I got up at 5am, left home at 6am, got there at 7am, carried all of my heavy gear through the freezing swamp, set up the blind, and then hoped to get lucky by way of the owl landing in the tree. This time, it did not happen. I think the blind spooked the owls, or maybe I was a little too noisy, or maybe it was just not the day for that tree (the owls were nearby). It got really windy at a point, so I had to tear down the blind. I then walked around and watched the owls later in the evening. I think I am going to try staking out a different spot next time, and I am going to try to conceal the blind by using natural vegetation from the area. I'm not giving up! I was thinking tonight that, I believe I was supposed to "fail" at this owl shoot, because it allowed me to reconsider my location and setup...which means next time if I do succeed I will have far nicer shots than I would have if the owls would have landed where I wanted on this shoot. In other words, a blessing in disguise, if you will. At least, when I think of it that way, I feel better

Well executed shot, Matt. I've never seen one of these guys. Or at least not that I recognized it at the time.. Beautifully simple perch, no distractions, and the techs are good. I agree a contrasting BG would have been preferable as would visible feet. But those are perfections to add another time. For what you had to work with you made the most of it. Nice job. Sorry the owls didn't show. I'm waiting to see what you do with them

Thanks Dan! As noted, the owls were there, but not in my tree On the prior trip to that location, I worked the owls in the open field as they sat on posts and flew by while hunting. I got some shots I will be sharing soon, but the crops are kind of heavy. Hence the stakeout in blind approach, hoping to get some frame fillers.

A great capture! Thanks for the lesson on shrikes I don't think we have them here in the smokys. Would love to here how you tempt owls to a perch.

Thanks. As noted above, I had visited the area a few times and watched the owls, so I knew where they preferred to perch. There are people that photograph raptors by baiting them with live mice, or other various similar tactics. There are definitely arguments pro and con from various people, and some will be outraged, and some think it's fine. Personally, where I'm at right now, is that if I can get the shots I want with less intrusive methods, that is the way to go. Also, I can't stomach the live bait idea- I don't have it in me. Anyway, let's not start a big thing about this. The point is, I staked out the area where they would likely be based on my research.

[Downrigger]

Thanks very much, Matt, for that long thoughtful response. There's a spectrum of wildlife photography, from the shooting at the zoo to tenting amongst the lions. You're at the end of the spectrum that appeals to me. For me, as with fishing, you can have a great outing without necessarily bringing home a full creel.

[jprzybyla]

Hi Matt, nice Northern Shrike... very similar to the Loggerhead Shrike in Florida. Both birds have the same habits regarding feeding on prey. Here is a image of the Loggerhead Shrike for comparision.

[jamn4ex]

I was glad to hear you were not baiting. I can still enjoy your great shots.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Joe, very nice shot! Thanks for sharing your image of the related species. FYI to those who might want to ID a shrike between the loggerhead and the Northern- one way is: the black mask on the loggerhead extends around the front over the beak, whereas the N. shrike mask ends at the side of the beak, as can be seen in my and Joe's images.

Thanks to all for your comments

[Saorsa]

Here is another of a Loggerhead with it's prey spiked for later consumption.