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Read about the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike and our efforts to save it from extinction here.

Sitting tight

  Carden | May 10, 2013

The captive breeding pairs have finally arrived in Carden! Many pairs are now incubating their eggs and the highly strung females can be heard making gremlin-like noises from their nests as the males bring them an assortment of mealworms, crickets, mice and occasionally a wild caught snake. During the first few weeks our feed shed was repeatedly broken into by squirrels [...]

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Field Lesson Two: This is not a shrike

  Carden | May 8, 2013

Species-specific field research can be a strange occupation.  So much of your life depends on exploring sometimes vast tracks of land, in a search for one thing – one elusive little winged thing – and it can do things to a person.  With so much time alone, it’s not uncommon to start talking to yourself [...]

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The Arrival of our Captive Birds in Carden

  Carden | April 29, 2013

  The start of the 2013 captive breeding season has officially started this week with the arrival of 6 breeding pairs to our Carden field site.  It has been a long awaited arrival by our team who has been working hard on getting the cages ready for the shrikes.  The cages have been overhauled in [...]

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It is that time of year again, so please watch for reptiles and amphibians on the roads!

  Napanee | April 19, 2013

While our main objective up here in Napanee is to find shrikes, we are also always keeping an eye out for other species of animals in the area. While out surveying the other day, we saw our first snake of the season. It was a small garter snake and it looked like it was enjoying [...]

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The welcome return of an old friend

  Napanee | April 18, 2013

Greetings from the Napanee shrike team! Well we are finally in the field after spending a few weeks working out of the WPC head office in Guelph. After reading countless reports and protocols and looking at more maps than we would care to think about, we are happy to finally be able to update you [...]

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The perfect nest cup!

  Carden | April 18, 2013

In the last few weeks the Carden Eastern loggerhead shrike recovery team have been working hard in preparation for both the wild and captive shrikes’ return. Being this season’s Captive Shrike Technician, my biggest concern is those birds arriving from their over wintering facilities to join us at the Carden field site where they will [...]

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Field Lesson One: All shrikes are not created equal

  Carden | April 18, 2013

Before the field season even started, when it was just Jonathan and I holed up in our little room at WPC headquarters with piles of maps and protocols, we saw what we thought to be a good omen: a Northern Shrike in the field next to our parking lot! What’s more, we saw it catch [...]

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Meet the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Team

  elsr | April 18, 2013

Every spring, the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Recovery Program brings together a talented team of conservationists to meet the needs of a busy field breeding season in a couple locations in Ontario, historic habitat of this endangered songbird. The team spends its season interacting with landowners, scouting for shrikes returning from their wintering grounds, searching for [...]

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Awaiting the Field Season!

  Carden | April 2, 2013

Our field biologists are excited about the upcoming season of the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike program. Once we get done the prelimary work in the office, we finally get to hit the fields and do the work we love best. We will be scanning for returning shrike, searching for nests, and ultimately breeding and releasing this [...]

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An Important Reminder

  Carden | December 5, 2012

The five month long Loggerhead Shrike breeding season can be challenging for some field staff who are contracted by Wildlife Preservation Canada, but despite the demanding aspects of the season, staff have the opportunity to enjoy jubilant, nearly euphoric moments when they witness small successes that may help lead to the recovery of the species. [...]

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