Summer is the time of year when newly fledged birds start to explore their surroundings, learn to be independent, find their own food, a safe roost for the night, and, of course, spread their wings and take flight. The same is true for conservation-bred shrikes released into the alvar plains of eastern Ontario as part of WPC’s Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Recovery Program.

After spending a week or two in enclosures open to the elements, where they have the opportunity to practice hunting live prey items such as crickets and mealworms and become familiar with their immediate environment, the enclosure’s release doors are unlatched and the shrikes are set free.

The birds, however, are eased into their newfound freedom and allowed to exit the enclosure on their own time. They are supplemented with food while they continue to hone their hunting skills on wild prey items like grasshoppers and caterpillars. Slowly weaning the birds off their supplemented food over the course of a few weeks allows them to transition to a wild diet. Much like wild birds that have parents to provide support while they figure things out, the released birds are also given some support. This method of acclimating individuals to an independent life in the wild is known as a soft-release.

Some birds are inherently drawn to the open skies and what lies beyond the horizon, less inclined to remain in the place where they were first able to take flight. Other individuals express their freedom by choosing to stay near the places they know. But as migrants, even the most established young shrikes, whether timid or territorial, are compelled to seek out warmer pastures as the summer light fades. We hopefully await their return the following year to raise their own young shrikes in the wild, eager to explore the world and their freedom.