How do you build a shrike enclosure?

Posted onDecember 7, 2023byWildlife Preservation Canada|Eastern Loggerhead Shrike, Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Recovery, Loggerhead Shrike, News and Events

After a precipitous drop in the wild eastern loggerhead shrike population in the 1990s, Environment Canada invited Wildlife Preservation Canada to lead the multi-partner recovery effort in 2003. Since then, the wild population size has fluctuated. Studies have shown that although the recovery effort has prevented the species from disappearing from Canada, more work is required to identify and address the causes of the species’ decline.

The eastern loggerhead shrike team is excited to announce that we now have a new shrike enclosure at the Napanee release site! Conservation Programs Director, Hazel Wheeler, and Recovery Biologist, Helmi Hess, worked in conjunction with our partners from African Lion Safari, Nature Conservancy of Canada and Queen’s University to create this new enclosure that will allow for three separate groups of shrikes to be housed within.

Beginnings of the new shrike enclosure, with the wall panels ready to be assembled. Photo: Hazel Wheeler

The new enclosure will be a great addition to our two existing enclosures in Napanee, allowing 50% more capacity at this release site, and providing a safe habitat in which the juvenile shrikes can acclimate to their wild surroundings. Up to 12 young from three separate nest groups can be housed in the neighbouring units, which have shared doors that are opened once any possible signs of aggression between groups has been assessed. Research suggests that birds released in larger groups are more likely to return to Ontario, thus large enclosures such as this new one are beneficial.

The walls are up and the roof is next! Photo: Hazel Wheeler

We tried a new construction technique for this enclosure where a carpenter pre-built each wall and roof section. We then assembled it like a gingerbread house, propping up and joining the walls first, and then lifting the roof panel on top. We were also able to add slanted steel roofing which will last longer than plywood, and create a more permanent structure. Once the frame was up, door openings were cut for human entrances, as well as for the birds to move between units and out into the wild when it is time for release.

A closer look at the doors that will eventually open to release juveniles in to the wild. Photo: Hazel Wheeler

We take extra time to install safety precautions including a predator skirt around the enclosure with chicken wire. By burying this chicken wire, it prevents predators like weasels from digging underneath the walls and getting to the birds. Although it’s a lot of work, we always take every precaution to give our shrikes the best care!

Stay tuned to see these enclosures filled with ready-to-release shrikes next summer.

And a big thank you to the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere and the Stephen L. McDonough Family Wildlife Conservation Fund, for generously supporting this enclosure and it’s construction.