Yesterday morning I did a repeat … Harns Marsh at sunrise followed by a search for Crested Caracaras immediately afterwards. Both efforts were highly successful. My goal was to ignore the water birds and focus upon two bird species that hunt to survive, the Loggerhead Shrike and Crested Caracara.

“The small of it” would definitely be the Loggerhead Shrike. It is the only songbird about which I know which hunts other birds, small rodents, and insects. I found a pair of Shrikes after a one mile walk. This duo were obviously an established pair. In addition to watching them catch lots of insects, two Cardinals are lucky to still be alive. By a matter of inches the Shrikes failed in their attempts to kill the red birds. However, apparently a Northern Mockingbird is either big enough … or nasty enough in its own right that the Shrikes left it alone. The Mockingbird often hunted for food just a few feet from the Shrikes and was definitely left alone.

Loggerhead Shrikes

Northern Mockingbird (being left alone)

After enjoying my time with the Shrikes, it was time to try and find a “Mexican Eagle” … the Crested Caracara. This bird is actually a falcon but its large fierce appearance is more than likely how this nickname arose. Regardless, I found a Crested Caracara on Church Road. I had never seen a juvenile, which this bird apparently was given its more brown and black markings (adults are white and black … see my prior post). Thus … for the “Large of it”!

Crested Caracara