BIRD DOG???

I've been watching this pair of birds for about a week now and they never stay still long enough to either identify them or photograph them. Finally, the other day, they perched for a minute or two allowing me to snap a few pictures before they went swooping around the yard again. Armed with my Audubon and Selby field guides, I finally ID'd them as a pair of loggerhead shrikes. A first for me, so I was pretty excited. 

While all of this frenetic swooping and flying and playing was going on, my faithful Dakota watched with an expression of pure boredom. After I took her picture, she looked at me with pity, sighed and flopped over on her side for a nap in the sun, perhaps to dream of a less pathetic caretaker.