Hi All,
I spent roughly an hour and a half looking for the Northern Shrike along
Shriver Rd. in NE Frederick Co. without any luck, but not without
excitement. At several occations I was fooled by at least two different
Northern Mockingbirds, perching openly on branch tips or tree tops giving
a similar siluette as a Shrike. If I hadn't had my scope available, I
would easily have claimed one of them as the N. Shrike. Without seeing the
bird in flight, sitting at a distance only the thin bill gave it away as
being a N. Mockingbird. I just want to highlight this fact as a caution to
visitors looking for the bird.

Despite the cold chill from NW, plenty of raptors were seen flying around
the area with a minimum of 20 Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawk, 1
juvenile Cooper's Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, juvenile Northern Harrier, and
three Am. Kestrels. Several Horned Larks, Am. Pipits and Eastern Bluebirds
were also noted along Shriver Rd.

At least I got to spend some time outdoor before the rain hit us.

Happy Holidays,

Frode Jacobsen
Baltimore, MD