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Aavo tells in Facebook: I have always believed that the grey shrikes leave in winter. Interesting – so whom might they devour in winter, being such great hunters usually.

 

Wintery times, few birds about, but suddenly I notice someone with a modest sky-grey plumage and an obvious raptor stance sitting, quite unmoving, at a higher pole or in the top of a tree, carefully surveying the environment. A silhouette similar to a magpie, but definitely smaller.

 

The grey shrike is about the size of a thrush, the tail is long and that adds to the impression of size. In Estonia, including the migrants from east and north, about half a thousand birds winter (the results of this winter’s count are particularly interesting). They go where the climate is a little milder than in the nesting area and food is easier to find.

 

Because of the thick snow cover rodent hunting has been very chancy for the grey shrikes in the beginning of this winter. The birds may more often be seen near settlements where they prey on the passerines and tits gathering there.