Below is the response I received from Tara Imlay, coordinator for the
Loggerhead Shrike (LOSH) recovery program in Ontario. It seems that there is a
chance that the bird present now is the same as the LOSH seen last winter. They
banded the current LOSH this summer and it was aged to be a second-year bird.
Elisa Enders
Portsmouth, VA
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2011 08:48:20 -0500
Subject: Re: color-banded Loggerhead Shrike in Virginia
From: tara@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: elisaenders@xxxxxxxxxxx
Hi Elise,
The bird you found DG/YE,DB/SI was banded in Carden, Ontario, this year as a
second year bird. Unfortunately it didn’t find a mate during the breeding
season this year, but it did spend several days hanging around our field
breeding site with the captive shrikes who were raising young. It was banded
while it was at the field breeding site. Because it didn’t pair and breed we
don’t know the sex of this bird and although sometimes morphometrics can help
us guess the sex, this bird’s measurements fell within the overlapping range
between males and females.
We don’t know a lot about how much site fidelity shrikes exhibit on the
wintering grounds (this is only the 3rd bird from Ontario that has been
reported!), but since it was banded this year, it is possible it was at the
same site last year.
I’m not sure if you live close to the area, but if you do, would you be willing
to check up on the bird every two to three weeks and let me know if it is still
sticking around throughout the winter. We have so little information on these
birds that every bit of data we can collect is vital!
Thanks again! Please let me know if you have any questions about our program,
Tara
