[Carl]

Sighted on xmas day afternoon,on west saanich rd and royal oak,lived hear two months and never seen one here before
Pritty sure this is a northern shrike,probably quite young,has the hooked beak, is it rare to see these guys on the island,i have only seen them once before in alberta.
It was watching the siskins and other small birds on my feeder,kinda cool to have one in the backyard.
Sorry the pictures are a bit crappy, i do have footage but i thought i would start with these photos.
cheers guys confirmation from others and knowledge on how common they are would be great.merry xmas http://www.flickr.com/photos/91485957@N05/

let me know if the links works, im new to that flickr site

[Bluebird]

Yep that's a Northern Shrike.Quite common here every winter.They are just not here in huge numbers.Ted