Best Practices for Protecting Loggerhead Shrikes in Saskatchewan

1. Beneficial Management Practices for Saskatchewan Species at Risk:Loggerhead ShrikeThreatened

2. Light grey head & back • White breast & rump • Black wings & tail with white stripes • Black eye mask that covers entire eye • Makes a “shriek” as alarm call Richard Ditch

3. Nest in isolated trees, shrubs, and thorny bushes along roads, rail road rights-of-ways, farmyards, abandoned farmsteads and cemeteries • Opportunistic predator • Located in the central and southern portions of the province

4. Status: Threatened Declined due habitat loss with the removal of shrubs and shelterbelts, pesticides contaminating food sources and collisions with vehicles along roadsides 700 pairs in Saskatchewan

5. Beneficial Management Practices Habitat Size Preserve native prairie in breeding and wintering area Provide areas of adequate size for breeding Loggerhead Shrikes; area should be large enough to support several average-sized territories

6. Grazing Moderate grazing intensities between May and October Restrict access of livestock to woody vegetation such as shelterbelts especially during the spring

7. Woody Vegetation Only plant trees and shrubs on modified landscapes Plant trees & shrubs at the interface between different crops, crop and tame pasture, along road allowances, power lines and fences around cemeteries Plant shelterbelts more than 200m from the road

8. Woody Vegetation (cont’d) Shelterbelts should be multi-row on cropland Leave a 2-4m strip of perennial, herbaceous vegetation adjacent to shelterbelts Choose shelterbelt species that grow to about 6m in height and are thorny

9. Invasive Alien Species Clean up spilled grain and do not feed livestock on the ground Store grain and feed in bird- and rodent-proof bins Use feeds difficult for starlings to handle such as block, cubes or granular meal Adjust feeding times to late afternoon

10. Invasive Alien Species (cont’d) Regulate watering troughs so water is too low to be reached from the top edge and too deep for starlings to wade in Do not put perches at the entrance of bird houses meant for native birds Close up purple martin houses when the birds leave usually in September

11. Roads Plant woody vegetation for Loggerhead Shrikes at least 200m from busy roads