The orange dots on the map mark the six "core areas" where shrikes are currently found in Canada.

For more information about a core area, just click on the dot.

Southeastern Manitoba

• This core area of approximately 227 square kilometres lies in suburban land just north of Winnipeg.
  
• In 2005, there were only five known breeding pairs in the province.
  
• Habitat lies within a mix of older and newer suburban development. There are many hydro lines that shrikes can perch on.
  
• Older developments tend to have larger lots (3-10 acres) that are good for shrikes, but the trees here are larger and may attract shrike predators.
  
• Newer developments tend to have smaller lots, but also have smaller trees that are good for shrike nests.
  
• Suburban areas are surrounded largely by agricultural cropland. More typical cattle country lies about 30 kilometres north. A key stewardship goal is to create a corridor between the suburban habitat and the cattle-country habitat.
  
• Other stewardship activities include planting tree species such as hawthorn, buffaloberry, willow, plum, and (especially in suburban areas) white and Colorado spruce.
  
• In 2005, the West St. Paul area was nominated as a Canadian Important Bird Area.
  

Manitoulin Island

• Manitoulin Island is located in northern Lake Huron, northwest of the tip of the Bruce Peninsula.
  
• No nesting pairs have been found here since 2001, but there have been records of recent shrike sightings across the island.
  
• Pairs are sometimes found nesting in atypical sites but with pasture, hawthorn and/or hedgerows nearby.
  
• Large areas of shallow soils support many rare species.
  
• The amount of open pastureland has been declining. Land use has changed, and there is the potential for aggregate extraction and quarries.
  

Carden Plain

• The Carden Plain was home to 14 wild pairs of shrikes in 2005 – currently the largest population in Canada.
  
• Habitat often includes scattered hawthorn trees, which shrikes use for nesting and perching.
  
• Recovery efforts are focusing on maintaining cattle grazing, adding perches and, in some areas, removing Common Juniper.
  
• This area includes large beef cattle ranches and adjoining patches of unimproved pasture, which offer tremendous potential as habitat to help the shrike populations recover.
  
• It has also been identified by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources as an aggregate resource extraction area.
  
• The Carden Plain was designated as an Important Bird Area due to its significant share of an endangered bird population.
  
• In 2005, 18 captive-bred young were released to the wild here.
  

Smiths Falls Plain

• Located southwest of Ottawa, this is the largest and easternmost core area in Ontario, adjoining the Outaouais core area in Quebec.
  
• In 1992 the Smiths Falls Plain was home to 14 breeding pairs. This number dropped to 0 in 2001.
  
• The habitat includes scattered hawthorns or white cedar and hedgerows.
  
• Historically, the area was characterized by small family-based dairy farming.
  
• The decline of small farms, increased forestation, and the fragmentation of land for rural housing has resulted in much loss of shrike habitat.
  
• To help bring back the shrike, efforts in the Smiths Falls area focus on maintaining and re-establishing cattle grazing, and on clearing invasive species such as prickly ash and buckthorn from potential shrike habitat.
  

Napanee Plain

• This area was home to 11 wild pairs in 2005, down from 25 pairs in 2003.
  
• In cattle pastures, red cedar trees are the main nest and perch tree.
  
• Stewardship activities focus on removing excess shrubs and installing fencing so that livestock can graze, keeping the grass at an ideal height for shrikes to spot their prey.
  
• Since 1991, there have been spring and summer surveys for shrikes here, as well as studies on behaviour and nesting success.
  
• Napanee Plain has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) due to its significant share of an endangered bird population.
  

Grey-Bruce counties

• This region is known as the beef cattle capital of Ontario and has a long history of shrikes.
  
• However, the amount of open pastureland has shrunk, and shrike habitat has been affected by changes in agricultural practices, removal of hedgerows and land use changes.
  
• Pairs and individual birds are recorded sporadically in suitable habitat throughout Grey, Bruce and parts of Dufferin Counties.
  

Outaouais Region

• South-eastern Quebec has some of the oldest Loggerhead Shrike breeding records in Canada. Until the early 1990s, there was a long breeding history of shrikes in the Ottawa and St. Lawrence River valleys.
  
• Eastern Loggerhead Shrikes have not been spotted breeding in Quebec in roughly a decade.
  
• Recent habitat assessments indicate a decline in the extent of suitable open pasture habitat.
  
• Local shrike recovery efforts are focussed on developing a shrike habitat management plan for several hundred acres of pasture grassland in the Outaouais area. The land has been donated to the Nature Conservancy of Canada with the intention of having it managed as short grassland habitat for shrikes as well other species.