It's been a long winter. Before the heavy snowfall in January Jon and I were out most days cutting and piling trees so that when the shrikes return to breed this spring they will find less predators lurking in the trees and more open grassland to hunt for food.
Suitable nesting trees were identified and left for shrikes. Here are some before and after shots of the fields.
These small trees were encroaching on the release site around the release cages. The young shrike are particularly vulnerable to predation so keeping these spaces open is particularly important.
Finally the snow is moving on and I have also relocated! As much as I love the shrikes and the alvar habitat I couldn't help but pursue a new adventure. This summer I will be working with the University of Alberta with another endangered species, the Ferruginous Hawk!
Stories of my hawk adventures coming soon!
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