I went to Cromwell this morning shortly after 10:00am on try #4 for the Shrike, 
expecting to be disappointed again. As I drove down the lane, I saw a suspect 
bird in the brushy area to the right but didn't stop for a close look; I assumed 
it was the resident Mockingbird. However, when I parked and walked to where 
I could see into that area, the bird was still perched in a prominent position on 
a horizontal branch of a sapling and I could easily see with binoculars that it 
was a NORTHERN SHRIKE, though it was so obliging that I went the few feet 
back to the car to get the scope for an even better look.

Perhaps other birders had already come and gone. I was the only one there 
from 10:08 - 10:24. The Shrike stayed on its branch the whole time, and as I 
drove slowly out, I could see it clearly, and more closely, through the white 
board fence. It was in the swath of brush and small trees, closer to the old 
fence than the new one, a little further in along the drive than the bluebird 
box.

Leslie Starr
Baltimore & Port Republic