I looked for the L Shrike for the second day in a row today (SAT) and this
time had luck…!!!  At appx 3:30 it was 0.2 mile west along Shaffer Rd from
where it has been previously reported.  That placed it almost exactly one
mile from the intersection with Dam #4 Road.  

I found it N of the road opposite the double lane (merging to a single lane)
leading to a farm well off the road.  The shrike was east of the lane 30 to
40’ up in the lone field tree opposite a line of cedars and appx 100 yards
from the road.  From that distance the light colored breast shining in the
evening light caught my attention and in bins the facial mask was clearly
evident.  I watched for appx 20 minutes as it scanned its environment from
its perch, but otherwise remained motionless.  A Mockingbird flew to the top
of one of the cedars during this time, offering a nice juxtaposition of the
similar (in appearance) species, but there was no interaction.  At some
point when I was distracted the Shrike vanished from its perch for parts
unknown, but I would guess not too distant.   

At Dam #4 were no water birds, although the water is ice-free.  Along the
canal were the usu small woodland birds including one of my favorites –
Brown Creeper.

Jim Speicher
Jspeicher—at—niaid.nih.gov
Rockville @work :(
Broad Run_S. FRED Co @home :)