Northland Nature: A shrike lingers at the bird feederRecently
another wintering bird came to mingle at the feeders. The bird
was about the size of a blue jay with black wings and tail, a
gray back, a white belly and a black mask. I was watching a
northern shrike. By: Larry Weber, For the Budgeteer News The
weather this month so far has not always been winter-like.
Temperatures have shown a huge variation, from 15- to 20 below
as we began the month, to near 50 above just ten days later.
Again, the average temperature for the first half of the month
has been several degrees above normal. Instead of the usual
snowstorms closing schools, we had a shutdown due to ice. By
mid-month, we had more precipitation in the form of rain than in
snow. Looking back on December, I find it interesting to note
that the average for the first half was about 23.5 degrees
Fahrenheit, nearly nine degrees above the usual; but in the
latter half, the mercury recorded only 12.7 degrees, about two
degrees below the norm. Mild temperature