The loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) is one of a disappearing breed in Ontario; there is a small number in a little protected pocket near Napanee, and otherwise there only appears to be one shrike in Eastern Ontario. It eats mostly insects at this time of year, but also small birds and mice, and often impales prey on a hawthorn tree’s thorn or barbed wire to hold it steady. It is nicknamed the butcherbird after its carnivorous tendencies.
