At around 8:15 an today, I saw the Northern Shrike at Cromwell Valley
Nature Center.
 
I entered the park from Cromwell Valley Road at the first entrance road
- when coming from 695 (the Sherwood Farm entrance) and parked just
south of the bridge at the bottom of the hill. While walking the path
that traverses the stream and that goes east of the entrance road, I
spotted the shrike in the top of one of the tall trees about 200-300
yards east of the entrance road. This tree is located north of the
stream.
 
The Shrike then proceeded to fly west into the tall tree where I was
standing! (This is the first tall tree you come to while walking east on
the above mentioned path; this tree is only about 50-75 yards east of
the bridge). I walked back towards the entrance road, turned around, and
had a great view of the bird. Then the bird flew south about 120-150
yards into one of the trees just west of the fence line that separates
the field from the woods. Next the bird came back to the previous tree;
then flew north of the bridge, and made great appearances at the tops of
a couple of tall trees on both sides of the bridge and very, very close
to the bridge. In fact, I was standing on the bridge looking at the bird
when I swooped down at a Carolina Wren in the big stones below the
bridge. The bird was not more than 20 yards away! The wren disappeared
into a crevice of one of the large stones before the Shrike could
overtake it.
 
The bird did not appear to be concerned about my presence, although it
did show concern when the blue jays called.
 
Then the bird flew south along the entrance road towards Cromwell Valley
road and disappeared. This would have been around 9 am. 
 
I was not able to definitely relocate the bird after that, although I
believe I saw it fly on the south side of Cromwell into a tightly packed
group of trees.
 
Even at a fair distance, this bird displays a prominently hooked bill
(that does not get thinner as it approaches the tip - unlike the
Loggerhead Shrike). Also, this bird is very pale above with contrasting
dark wings, and it has a thin dark mask that is more like a good sized
eye-line. Only at a closer distance can you view (1) that the mask does
not extend over the bill and (2) the pale lower mandible.
 
When this bird wants to fly rapidly, its wing beats are very rapid;
however, I found a hesitation in the flight pattern of 2-3 rapid wing
beats followed by a pause.
 
Also, the bird was entirely silent.
 
I left around 10 am.
 
It is encouraging to note that the bird continues to hunt in the range
that Steve Sanford described on 12/22 -- a link to which I am now
displaying, for your easy review
 
http://www.santanager.net/ShrikeSpotOutline.jpg
 
 
                               Good Birding!
 
 
 
                                                Taylor McLean
                                                
 
P.S. ... and to quote Jerry Tarbell:
 
"All I want for Christmas is my very own Shrike ..." Everybody sing with
me ...