Hi Tweeters,
It's been a while since I sent out a post but made an interesting
observation worth sharing. I was north of Ferndale last week and caught sight of a
Northern Shrike. It was hovering over an open grassy field about 5 to 10 feet
from the ground Every 15 to 30 seconds it would swoop down towards the ground as
if after prey then go up to about the same elevation and hover again. I
watched this bird for several minutes. I never did see what it was be swooping
down after but theorized it could have been a display for a potential partner.
Perhaps playing cat and mouse with a rodent? Any other ideas out there?
Also, we set up our Hummingbird feeders on Saturday night and had our first
Rufous on Sunday. Just think, it cannot be very long before the Black-headed
Grosbeaks will be here too!


Happily Birding,

Beth Thompson
Arlington, WA
calliopehb at aol.com