Chris Takacs saw the Northern Shrike for about 10 minutes, around 2:30 p.m. It was by the retention pond across from Carillon on DeKorte Road. (Thanks, Chris!)

    The bird has now been seen for eight days in a row. Scroll down for more Shrike posts.

    We stopped by the Kearny Marsh yesterday by Gunnell Oval, in hopes of finding some Bald Eagles seen in the vicinity.

   We didn't see any eagles, but the female Common Merg (above) popped up, and we had plenty of American Coots, as well as distant Gadwall and Green-winged Teal.

   Water levels are still high, and the marsh has not iced over yet.

    As of Thursday, the Northern Shrike has been seen seven days in a row off Disposal Road.

   If you are planning to look for this bird, we thought we'd offer a few bits of pertinent info.

  The bird has been seen several places on both sides of Disposal Road, mostly on the former landfills on the North Arlington side of the AMVETS Carillon (toward Schuyler Avenue). 

   The former landfill on the Carillon side of the road is the Erie landfill. The former landfill across the road is Kingsland. (Both landfills are off-limits, and no trespassing is allowed.)

   The shrike has been seen several times on the far side of the Kingsland retention pond, and several times on the Black Locust near the top of the Kingsland Landfill.

   When it is visible, the bird is typically seen perched high in a bare tree — much like the silhouetted shot at top of the post, taken on Wednesday.

   The bird can perch for a few minutes at a time, and hunts from that perch like a flycatcher, possibly returning to the same spot. But it more often seems to be out of view entirely, so patience is a virtue.

   Disposal Road does get traffic, so beware of vehicles.

   Dress warm; it can be pretty cold out there these days.

   If you do see the bird, please e-mail Jim Wright here, and he will post the news to the blog. You can also e-mail him if you have questions, and he will try to get back to you as soon as he can.

   Ray Duffy took a nice video early in the shrike's stay. It is here. (Thanks, Ray.)

   Good luck!

   (Scroll down for earlier posts, which contain directions to Disposal Road and more shrike info.)