In all my life, I have observed just two shrikes. Both
observations were memorable; I've written about them before. In
both instances, the shrikes were being what they're known to be
and doing what they're known to do; that is, being predators and
displaying predatory behavior. The experiences were fascinating,
to say the least. My first shrike observation was of a bird that
plummeted into a patch of tall grass and then flew to a nearby
hawthorn tree with a vole in its beak. I watched in amazement as
the bird impaled the newly captured vole onto a thorn and began
to feed on the furry mammal. My second observation occurred
while deer hunting. My son and I shared the experience, in
amazement, as we watched a shrike chase a downy woodpecker from
a nearby woodland into a clearing where we happened to be. Both
birds were in flight, but the shrike overpowered the woodpecker
and forced it to the ground where it promptly killed the downy
with two quick blows with its beak behind the woodpecker's head.
We were thrille