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Loggerhead Shrike!, and crows.



Dear Blue Ridge Birders, and carolinabirds:

Today a Loggerhead Shrike crossed Hwy 93 in front of my truck near Turkey
Knob in central Alleghany County. It stopped and perched long enough for me
to get stopped and get it in binoculars. Good light, short range. First one
I have seen in years.

In the upcoming Christmas Bird Counts I would stress the importance this
year of getting good counts of crows, jays, and ravens. We have been hearing
reports from up north all year of die-offs of corvids from West Nile virus.
Many of those crows and jays winter here. I for one have not yet seen the
huge crow flocks this year that have been such a feature of winter bird life
in Alleghany, Ashe and Grayson counties since the early 1980's. If numbers
in 2002 are down from the average of the last few years it will be
interesting.

James Coman
Piney Creek, N.C.
Compiler, New River CBC