I think it is a Loggerhead Shrike. Here is a description of its feeding habits in an article by George Ellison:
If on a late afternoon walk across an open field you encounter a thorny honey locust tree with an impaled display of songbirds or field mice dangling in the wind — like macabre ornaments on some ghastly Christmas tree — you’ll know you’ve entered the “butcher shop” of a loggerhead shrike.
To say that the loggerhead shrike is “fearsome” is not an overstatement. With an especially adapted beak that is hooked and notched, the shrike kills birds and mammals by biting them behind the head until the cervical vertebrae are severed.
The male shrike has the distinctive habit of impaling captured insects, birds, mice and other prey upon handy strands of barbed wire or plant thorns and briars. Leftover portions are sometimes left hanging high and dry for later consumption.
In a “Birder’s World” article, “Masters of the Macabre,” Matthew Douglas noted that, “Male shrikes accumulate larders for their own use and for feeding their mates and young. Larders usually reach peak size during courtship and incubation so maximal food is available when the young hatch.
“While shrikes have a reputation for wanton killing, most evidence suggests they don’t kill more than is required for sustenance. It’s not clear whether most shrikes feed on cached food that is old. While some have returned to larders weeks after they formed them, others seem to avoid ones more than two days old.
“Another function of larders may be as indicators of a male’s hunting ability. Evidence suggests a male with more food stored in larders has a greater chance of being selected by a female.
“Whatever the purpose of the larder, it appears that the impaling behavior offers the shrike an anchor from which it can tear apart the prey’s body. This would be a reasonable assumption because although shrikes have powerful feet, they do not have the talons of other birds of prey.”
Will keep you posted as to what's around the next bend!
