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jypsee | all galleries >> par nature >> winged florida >> perching birds >> loggerhead shrikes > loggerhead shrike. attacks snake
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4/24/04 jypsee

loggerhead shrike. attacks snake

Charlotte County in Florida

There were a total of three shrikes attempting to corner this snake.
Loggerhead shrikes impale their prey on a thorn to eat it. I imagine
that was the plan with this snake. It got away.


other sizes: small medium original auto
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Anna Yu12-Oct-2004 19:00
Wow I could wait for 100 years and never capture a scene like this. Superb.
jypsee26-Apr-2004 13:54
In a way, yes, I wait for stuff to happen...but I have to be where stuff is happening so I spend a lot of time looking for places that have the right conditions for making pictures of birds. If you'll notice, there aren't many pictures of perching birds in my galleries; it takes lots of muscle control to hold a big lens steady to photograph little birds. So, I need to be able to brace the lens most of the time. I use a low stool and a tripod and sometimes I put a beanbag on the tripod and rest the camera on th beanbag so I have better ability to track the bird.
In this picture, the juvenile loggerhead shrike had been screeching at the snake and alerting the adults to it...that's what clued me in that something interesting was happening.
Carolyn B.25-Apr-2004 21:12
Wow! How do you do this? Do you stand by quietly and wait? You're so talented at capturing these birds in the midst of often-missed activity.