Back at the end of October and again in November I spotted the shrike that was reported hanging out at the Teddy Roosevelt Nature Center at Jones Beach State Park. It had been identified as a Northern Shrike but discontent with that identification had grown and, eventually, a debate (instigated by Shai Mitra) broke out on the New York State Birds Listserv that spilled over to the oracles of modern birding, the ID Frontiers Listserv. The big guns of birding hang out there and one of the biggest guns used the opportunity to take the birding community to school and, in the process, added Loggerhead Shrike to my New York State list. Thanks, David Sibley!
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.
Interesting article on loggerhead shrikes and their demise in NY state in December’s Conservationist.