Be on the lookout for this small but fierce bird this summer: Nature Sask.

It might be best to slow down when driving past shelterbelts parallel to grid roads in the province.

It might be best to slow down when driving past shelterbelts parallel to grid roads in the province. Nature Saskatchewan says these are becoming popular nesting spots for shrikes. The loggerhead shrike is a small, but fierce predatory songbird that spends its summers in Saskatchewan while raising its young.

While they don’t have sharp talons like other predatory birds, shrikes will often impale their prey on thorns or even barbed wire. The birds tend to prefer thorny shrubs like Buffaloberry and Hawthorn, but have also increasingly begun to use shelterbelts like caragana. That’s why habitat stewardship coordinator Emily Putz says it’s important for drivers to slow down on grid roads near shelterbelts.

“The young fledglings will be leaving their nest soon and are often attracted to roadways to hunt insects, they can’t fly well yet and road mortality is a large risk to them,” Putz said. She said people can watch out for impalements as signs that shrikes are nearby. “Look for caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers, mice, even frogs and snakes, if you see one impaled you have a shrike nearby!”

she added. Nature Saskatchewan explained that people can keep an ear open for the shrieking, begging call of fledgling shrikes. The release said people can help the threatened species by planting native thorny shrubs, keeping mature shelterbelts on the landscape in cropland and reporting sightings to the Shrubs for Shrikes program.

“Every sighting is kept anonymous and goes towards helping recovery by informing population and range year to year. If you are a landowner with Loggerhead Shrikes on your land, we would love to have you participate!” the release read.

“The program runs an annual “census” to monitor known nesting locations.” People can find out more by contacting Nature Saskatchewan.