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Meet Other Birders and Learn from the Experts
In general, birders are a very outgoing, intelligent and helpful group of people. The experienced birdwatchers in the Texas Panhandle are eager to welcome, involve and educate new birders. The Panhandle is so large (more than 25,000 square miles) that to really understand all of the avian species in the area takes lots of participants reporting from all over the Panhandle. By gathering for monthly meetings, we can get to know one another and share our birding adventures, questions and photos. All of that will lead not only to connection and comradarie, but also to better citizen science as we explore and record the birds of the Texas Panhandle. Put the second Tuesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. on your calendar for the Panhandle Bird Club meeting.
February Meeting
Bird of the Month
Loggerhead Shrike
In the Texas Panhandle, the Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) is a common year-round resident often seen perched on fences or utility lines in open, grassy habitats. Known as "butcher birds," these predatory songbirds impale prey—including insects, lizards, and small rodents—on thorns or barbed wire to eat or store.
While these striking gray, black and white birds are a familiar sight in the Panhandle, their population has declined by roughly 75% since 1966. Texas maintains some of the only stable populations in North America. Although a specific cause or causes have not been determined, it has been hypothesized by the Texas Breeding Bird Atlas that changes in land use practices, spraying of biocides, and competition with species that are more tolerant of human-induced changes, are the major factors contributing to the decline of the Loggerhead Shrike.
