Birds and Nature

I was driving away from Anzulduas County Park in Hidalgo County,TX when I heard some vocalizations with which I wasn't familiar. When I turned around and went back I was very surprised to see it was a Loggerhead Shrike that was singing- making mostly calls that sounded like chirping (but could be called trilling) but also a few high clear notes. This is the first time I have heard a Loggerhead Shrike sing and from some research it appears it isn't heard often. From the information on Birds of North America online this singing appears consistent with the male's 'spring song' associated with breeding rather than the 'territory song' that is given by both males and females which they describe as follows: "...contains fewer high, clear notes and more notes rough in quality which resemble harsh screeches or begging notes." Given how far south this is it may not be unusual to have breeding behavior in mid-January. SeEtta

The Baca National Wildlife Refuge was only established in 2003 and is not yet open to the public. My Audubon chapter had a field trip there last summer and I birded there last week. It is a veritable jewell in the rough, waiting for funding to add staffing (currently there is a manager and some maintenance staff). The approximately 92,000 acres in it's boundaries provide a lot of habitat for a variety of birds and other wildlife. 14% of the Refuge is wetland habitat including lush wet meadows, playa wetlands and riparian habitat. Most of the upland habitat is classified as semi-desert shrublands and grasslands. The lower pic is a Northern Shrike that I photographed on the Baca NWR last week. It is always good to see shrikes since though this species is not known to be of conservation concern yet, many shrike species are in danger. SeEtta