![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/loggerhead-shrike-8743-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"loggerhead-shrike-8743-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n1\/1600, f\/5.6, ISO 1250, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Yesterday morning on Antelope Island I caught this Loggerhead Shrike swallowing a spider (the island is absolutely loaded with spiders – the state park actually holds an annual Spider Festival). The shrike hunted from this perch for about 5 minutes – launching after potential prey and then returning to the same hunting platform.<\/p>\n When this shot was taken the sun was behind a cloud so I decided to crank up my ISO\u00a0to get a little more shutter speed\u00a0for takeoff shots.\u00a0Even at ISO 1250 I needed more SS than this\u00a0to get the wings of\u00a0the incredibly fast bird sharp at\u00a0takeoff but I\u00a0was already at a higher ISO than I\u00a0almost ever go.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/5.6, ISO 1250, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Thankfully the sun came out four minutes later and doubled my shutter speed.<\/p>\n An instant after this photo was taken the shrike spotted prey (probably an insect or another spider) directly in front of it.\u00a0In a\u00a0typical takeoff the\u00a0shrike would avoid any obstacles by altering its direction of launch. But in this instance the vertical twig to the far right of the frame was apparently\u00a0almost\u00a0exactly between the bird and its potential prey. To fly around it would take time and prevent quick acceleration so it wanted to go as close to the twig as it possibly could. Hitting it would of course slow the shrike down.<\/p>\n So it had a subtle way of dealing with the twig in flight if it needed to.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/5.6, ISO 1250, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, canvas added for composition,\u00a0not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Normally most birds tuck their legs and feet under the base of their tail immediately after takeoff for aerodynamic reasons. But this shrike brought\u00a0its feet far\u00a0forward in case it needed to use them\u00a0to push the twig out of the way in flight. It appears to me that\u00a0it didn’t actually do it (the next photo that I haven’t included here\u00a0suggests the same thing) but the shrike was prepared in case it needed to.\u00a0To my eye it looks\u00a0pretty strange to see\u00a0the feet of the bird in\u00a0this position\u00a0soon after a takeoff or in flight generally. It almost looks like the bird might have been hop-flying to another nearby perch but it wasn’t. The shrike actually flew far off after this launch, I just happened to catch it with its wings mostly\u00a0folded.<\/p>\n Several times I’ve\u00a0photographed much larger birds\u00a0(raptors in particular as they take off out of trees) using their feet to push twiggy obstructions out of the way but this is the first time I’ve documented\u00a0something similar\u00a0in a speedy little songbird.<\/p>\n See, I told you it was just a “little thing”… but IMO all the little things add up to a better understanding of birds.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And speaking of Loggerhead Shrikes – yesterday loyal blog follower Muffy S. Gately posted a link on Facebook\u00a0to an absolutely fascinating video\u00a0from Audubon (you don’t need to be a FB user to see it).\u00a0Lasting 22 minutes it’s more a mini-documentary than it is a video clip but\u00a0I highly<\/em> recommend it if you have any interest in bird behaviors in general and\/or Loggerhead Shrikes specifically. At least one of the behaviors has never before been documented (damn, I’d LOVE to have been the one to do that!) and if you’ve ever wondered why shrikes are often called “butcher birds” and “wannabe raptors” you’ll\u00a0most definitely see why (and no, I don’t think\u00a0the\u00a0clip is\u00a0gory at all).<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n