The Holy Order of Loggerhead Shrikes has found a sure-fire way to end their long winless streak at the World Series of Birding: They're taking the year off. "It was either this, or actually learn how to identify birds," an anonymous Shrikes source told us. Andy continued, "Only two of us can actually read a field guide, and one of us has trouble with the pictures, so we chose to take a sabbatical year."

One team member will be spending World Series weekend in Florida as part of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker search team. Another may do some birding abroad, while the last member will be staying close to home to participate in some local birding activities as part of International Migratory Bird Day. Shrikes Emeritus Don Simonson will be traveling around the U.S. in a VW bus, preaching about the finer points of dowitcher identification to helpless school children who will be forced to listen to him (if they want to go out for recess).

The team plans to re-evaluate its prospects for a 2008 WSB appearance. "We will be petitioning for a new category in the 2008 competition: 'Most Bird Products Eaten' in a 24-hour period. We've got some good Lesser Prairie-Chicken and Gunnison Sage-Grouse restaurants staked out already," said another anonymous source (OK, it was John). "We're still hoping to find a place that serves a nice Kirtland's Warbler egg omelet for breakfast. And I hear nothing refreshes the palate like glazed Spectacled Eider." When asked if animal rights groups might take issue with this WSB competition, a final anonymous source in the Shrikes camp responded, "Only if we get caught."

The 2006 Holy Order of Loggerhead Shrikes World Series of Birding lineup (from left to right): John Hubbell, Andy Rabin, and Gordon Gover

2006 has been an excellent year so far for the Shrikes. The Holy Order was represented at the Great Texas Birding Classic (GTBC) in April and at the World Series of Birding (WSB) in May. At both events, the team finished second in their respective categories. An excellent showing for both! The Texas team, made up of captain Roy J. Rodriguez (TX), Danny Hoehne (TX), Ben Lizdas (WI) and Sean Smith (TX), spent 24 hours birding the Lower Coast section of the state and tallied a total of 194 species. The Cape May team, comprising Gordon Gover (NJ), John Hubbell (DC) and captain Andy Rabin (VA) birded in the Cape Island section of Cape May County and ended up identifying 134 species. Read about the team's GTBC Big Day and the WSB Big Day.

We are proud to again be sponsored by Eagle Optics, the leader in supplying optic equipment to birdwatchers, amateur astronomers and outdoor enthusiasts. In addition to Eagle Optics, the Texas team was co-sponsored by Bird Watcher's Digest, America's favorite bird-watching publisher since 1978. As always, and most importantly, you helped the team raise funds for Pronatura Veracruz, the Mexican conservation organization that plays a critical role in environmental education and preservation in the state of Veracruz, Mexico.

Lord High Loggerhead Don Simonson, Lanius Emeritus, circa May 11, 2005, late morning.

Tiny ripples were sent through a small portion of the birding community today when Don Simonson, founder of the Holy Order of Loggerhead Shrikes, announced his retirement from competitive birding. This bombshell was announced at a press conference this morning, which did not include former Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton. "This is not what I would call a bombshell on the level of, say, Marilyn Monroe. It's more of a Renee Zellweger kind of thing," one reporter was quick to note. A stunned and reeling Pete Dunne, birding author and founder of the World Series, took the news very hard. "Don who?" was his stunned response, as he reeled.

Don had travelled to Texas with the team with the intention of competing, but a nagging injury and some potent Texas chili forced Don to decide to sit out the competition. "Don is irreplaceable," team captain Roy Rodriguez was quoted as saying right after Don announced his decision. Shortly thereafter, Don was replaced.

When asked if he planned to spend the rest of his birding energies trying to find and photograph an Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Don replied, "Nah, I'm going to Disney World. I'll probably spend most of my time on Pleasure Island. Maybe hit that big Lego store too."

Don hinted that he may be interested in helping out one of the growing number of youth teams that compete in the World Series each year, possibly by doing the driving. "Or not" was his brief reply when someone mentioned New Jersey's strict DUI laws.

So, an era has come to an end. Holy Order of Loggerhead Shrikes founder Don Simonson has decided to hang up his competitive binoculars. All of us Shrikes, past and present, wish Don nothing but the best. His presence will be missed during all of the Holy Order's future Big Days.

What will become of the Holy Order? Tune in in 2007...