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tribune november 28 1990 p5 shrike returns annually and learns to appreciate handout the shrike is back my wife called out one morning recent ly and while the calendar showed it was halloween it also signified this small- winged predator had again returned within a week of its previous arrivals our initial acquaintance with this robinsized shrike though really goes back to a bleak november day four years ago at that time one of the numerous house sparrows that frequent our barn killed itself flying against the hen pen win dow as i stepped from the door way to toss the carcass into the snowcovered garden a north ern shrike appeared chasing the sparrows between the out buildings thinking that the hungry shrike could use a handout i took the house sparrow that was destined for the compost and put it on the shed roof later that morning when i saw the shrike- fly away with the dead sparrow it got me thinking maybe if we had enough of a food supply we could set up a feeding station for this butcher bird as it is commonly called the problem however is once you start something of this nature you have to contin ue it knowing that these gray birds with the black masks require at least one victim a day to sus tain them that added up to one heck of a pile of house spar rows oh well it was a thought but then just as i was about ready to abandon the idea i remembered that northern shrikes prey on other things besides small birds like mice for example now that opened up a whole new mouse maze of possibili ties as everyone has a period ic mouse problem why not enlist the help of the neighbors to save and freeze their pests for us these together with the small rodents from our own barnwould be an adequate food source for the wintering northern shrike yet there was another impor tant reason for keeping this butcher bird well fed you see it was one thing to watch this flying predator chase the pesky house spar rows but quite another to wit ness its periodic attacks on the chickadees and other small seedeaters at our feeding sta tion i suppose in some way we were duplicating the old lion tamers trick for by keeping their fat cats full and content they would be less inclined to attack actually it was only a short while until mice were being used instead of the house spar rows and these were hung on the wire fence in place of putting them on the shed roof during the next few weeks these furry offerings were grad ually moved closer to the house until they were eventu ally impaled as shrikes them selves do on a sharp twig out side our window from such a daily vantage outdoors art briggsjude northern shrike hooked on mice point overa period of nearly four winters we have learned a lot about this masked bird that is sometimes referred to as a winged weasel 4 it is interesting to note that some of the traits that are attributed to shrikes do not apply to our northern visitor a good example is the method in which it carries its prey when airborne unlike some articles weve read our shrike carries its cap tured mouse or bird lands and impales its victim to eat at once or to hang it for future butcher ing- at our place this is as com mon an occurrence as the blue jays trying to steal the wood peckers peanuts there is also no question in play santa bingo every wednesday at 700 pm to dec 19th from the centre mall area provide your own mating 125 in cash vouchers weekly 5 games weekly cards available from november 29th to december 4th december 6th to december 11th december 13th to december 18th to play bingo on purple card december 5th blue card december 121h gold card december 19th mall hours monday friday 930 900 pm saturday 900 600 pm raw mm mm 5710 main st w sfouffville our minds that this is the same returning shrike at its first sighting in the yard we quickly put out a mouse and it flies right over and carries it away we also know it prefers mice to birds because when a spar row is substituted it may sit there for the whole day before it is taken i guess there are some things about this interesting bird well never know for sure how for example does it find its waeach year from the edges of the vast treeline low lands along the shores of hud son bay to our neck of the woods in leedslanark then too how does it escape the clutches of the sharp- shinned hawk that occasionally hunts in this same valley maybe the keen eyes the shrike uses to spot its prey also keep a sharp lookout for its deadly enemies with several hundred frozen mice on hand we certainly hope so entertainment matinees for young old saturdays at 2 pm from the mall area wally the rabbit toby the bear jj december 8th magician 1 richard mallett december 15th caroling with lawnje wallace special christmas edition december 22nd no admission charge provide your own seating visit santa sat dec 1stafter the parade until 8 pm candy canes magic books pictures of santa with your child available 5710 main st w stouffville hours sun thurs 1 1 qfrm 1 1 pm fri sat 11 am midnight in our 2nd birthday party nov 2930 dec 1 make a purchasff in any participating store min 500 break a balloon and receive the percentage revealed on the coupon inside save at least 10 and up to 50 some store participator pro duct restrictions may apply open saturdays until 9 pm dec 18 15 23 mm mil 5710 main st w st0uffville saturday december 8th kellingtons restaurant come join j j toby the bear wally the rabbit to meet greet and welcome santa to the stouffville place mall 1st sitting 930 am 2nd sitting 1030 am pancakes milk will be served reserve adavance tickets from any stouffville place mall store admission to breakfast a new teddy bear which ill be donated to less importunate children kflfa bior christmas p 5710 main st w stouffville