Rare fall migrants

A northern shrike on the look out for a mouse or small bird which it will impale on a thorn or stout branch for safe keeping and to aid in eating.

Photo: source

Spring is often looked to as the best season to see unusual birds in our part of the world. However, October and November can also be productive for finding unusual birds. The Townsends solitaire and the northern shrike are two of them. The Townsends solitaire is a bird of the mountainous region of western United States. It is a rare fall migrant in Minnesota. It has been seen the last couple of years at the Hastings Sand Coulee SNA in the southern unit, eating eastern red cedar berries.

The northern shrike (pictures at si.edu), while uncommon, is a more regular visitor to Minnesota than the solitaire. This shrike nests in northern Canada and Alaska and spends the winter in the northern half of the United States. It is a bird of open areas so look for it at the top of trees or telephone wires in rural parts of the Metro.