The holidays this year were for me what they are for most people: hectic while trying to squeeze in time to see loved ones. I ended up making a very short visit to New Jersey, flying back up here later on Christmas Day. Since I still had a few hours of daylight left, I decided to go birding.

It was a gorgeous afternoon; the air was calm, the skies were clear and the temperature milder than it had been. My first destination, of course, was the beach, which is a short distance from my apartment.

I immediately saw several white-winged scoters out on the water. These large, stocky diving ducks breed and nest near freshwater lakes in northwestern Canada and Alaska, and winter along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.

This duck presents an unusual appearance: the base of its bill appears swollen, giving the bill a humped shape; the male is entirely black except for a thin white patch on its wings and a small, crescent-shaped patch below its eyes, giving it a somewhat sinister look. Females are dark, sooty brown in color, but lack the white patch near their eyes.

As I watched the scoters diving for mollusks, a quick movement close to shore caught my attention. I turned just in time to see a small form dive underwater and had to wait for the bird to resurface to identify it as a horned grebe.

Small water birds that somewhat resemble loons, grebes exhibit a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. During the breeding season, the horned grebe is spectacularly adorned with thick golden head plumes, which contrast starkly with its black head, deep chestnut neck and flanks, and dark back. Since it shares roughly the same breeding territory as the white-winged scoter, its glorious breeding plumage is lost to us. In winter the bird migrates to both coasts, and we see the bird in much simpler, but also starkly beautiful black and white plumage.

Soon, yet another bird caught my attention, and I was thrilled to see a pair of red-breasted mergansers. There is an elegance to this water bird that I find enchanting. The male is beautifully adorned in black and white with a faint reddish chest; the female is a soft grayish brown. Both have long, thin, serrated bills which help them catch fish and aquatic insects; and both have pronounced, swept-back crests, which add to their distinguished appearance.

Red-breasted mergansers breed throughout most of Canada and Alaska, with some populations in the United States around the Great Lakes. Again, this is a bird we enjoy as a winter visitor.

As I turned from the ocean and headed back into the neighborhood in hopes of catching sight of some winter finches, I marveled at the evening sky. The quality of the light seemed soft and warm; high, wispy clouds caught the sun as it approached the horizon, glowing brilliant shades of pink and orange.

I heard the soft call notes of a finch, which I at first thought could have been a pine grosbeak. Alas, it was only a few house finches perched at the tip of a tall evergreen. Little did I know these everyday birds would provide some uncommon excitement.

After a turn or two around the neighborhood, I headed back. I passed the house finch tree, from which I could still hear short songs and call notes. As I scanned the trees down one side street, I immediately caught sight of a medium-sized songbird perched at the very tip of one. This prominent sentinel presented an obvious silhouette to any other searching eyes. For a songbird, this was unusual behavior, and I realized I wasn’t looking at any ordinary songbird. I was looking at a shrike – a songbird that acts like a raptor.

The bird flew to a tree conveniently near me and, sure enough, revealed itself to be a northern shrike – in active hunting mode.

The shrike immediately noticed the finches and launched itself from the tree, flying rapidly with deadly intent. The finches realized the danger and scattered, with a small group veering sharply to the right, while a lone bird fled in the opposite direction. Naturally, the shrike singled out the loner, and was rapidly closing in on the finch when both were lost from sight.

The shrike resembles every other songbird in all ways except one – it has a small, hooked beak, which it uses to catch and kill its prey. Although its feet are not equipped with the powerful and deadly talons of a true bird of prey, it nevertheless has a very strong grip and may also use its feet and claws to capture whatever it is pursuing – be it a bird, a bumblebee, a small mammal, small reptiles or insects.

Interestingly, a shrike’s plumage resembles that of a northern mockingbird, perhaps furthering its advantage when it comes to surprising other birds it hunts.

Northern shrikes are also winter specialties. Otherwise, they are breeders of the far Canadian north and Alaska, and may not move very far from this range come winter. If prey availability drops, though, or weather is unusually harsh, they “irrupt” into areas far from their summer territories.

This appears to be a big “irruptive” year for shrikes, as a good number of them have been reported so far in the state.

As I headed home that evening, I was awed by a brilliant sunset and felt at peace after the holiday travels. And I could not have asked for a better day of birding.

bdnsports@bangordailynews.net