Yesterday morning I had a very pleasant interlude with a male Green-tailed Towhee singing lustily away in an attractive setting.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
He’d been singing from a serviceberry bush and as I approached him in my pickup he only stopped his crooning for a few moments to check me out. He was in good light, he allowed me a close approach and I like the setting. His body was turned ever so slightly away from me but that allowed a good look at the namesake green tail of the species that isn’t always apparent.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
In this species sexes are similar but only males are known to sing and this guy was giving it all he had. While singing his face and bill were often pointed almost straight up which put his bill too close to the vertical twig behind him but in this shot I had a little more wiggle room in that regard.
It’s highly reassuring to see the serviceberries and other berries in the mountains coming along nicely this year. Two years ago we had a bumper berry crop which birds of many species really took advantage of but last year was a berry-bust because of a late cold spell. And berries can be a bonus for bird photographers too. I really like the way the colors of the ripening serviceberries in this shot complement the rufous crown of the towhee.
Bird photographers who are fans of Green-tailed Towhees had better get their licks in while they can. Very soon males of the species will stop singing on territory and resume their incredibly reclusive and secretive habits.
There’s good reason why Green-tailed Towhees remain one of North America’s least well-known birds.
Ron
Note: I was really tempted to clone out the leaf tip poking into the frame edge at lower right in the last photo. Maybe I should have. It’s distracting but cropping it out instead of simply removing it makes the composition too narrow vertically for my tastes and readers know how I feel about cloning natural elements out of my images.
Choices. Seems like there are always inconvenient choices…
Spectacular shots Ron! Thanks for sharing!
Yet another beauty. I had to go back and look for the errant leaf after I read the text.
I love the colour palette and the way it is echoed/complemented by the bird and the bush.
Thank you.
EC, you keep reading my blog and I’ll soon have you trained to spot aesthetic imperfections like that! 🙂 Probably not a good thing…
Probably not going to be a happening thing.
Yet another bucket list bird for me. Sigh.
Thank you for providing such excellent looks at one! Superb in every detail, even the rogue leaf.
Each time I look at a photo and think about cloning out a stem or leaf, I almost always elect not to do it. It’s where the bird lives. If he’s okay with an obtrusive branch, so am I.
I wish I had your equanimity regarding distracting elements in my images, Wally. I just don’t.
Seems to be a banner year for berries and you getting beautiful shots of your spark bird. Have you seen the Green-tailed Towhee eat berries/insects while on a bush? We have the Spotted Towhee here and have only see it forage on the ground. Doing the bilateral boogie, of course.
Lyle, to be honest I don’t remember EVER seeing this species eating anything. In my experience they’re either singing on territory from an elevated perch for a fairly brief period in late spring/early summer or they’re on a mission to hide out where they can’t be seen, almost always successfully I might add.
What a nicely cooperative bird! And, although they are here in central Oregon (not here in the Willamette Valley, though) I’ve only ever gotten brief glimpses at these birds due to my timing in their habitat and their skulkiness! Beautiful photos and, like others have said, I didn’t notice the lower right vegetation tip until you mentioned it! Now, of course, I can’t not see it!
Barbara, I couldn’t not see it from the get go!
Getting “very brief glimpses” of this species is usually par for the course as I’m sure you’re well aware. Most folks don’t even know they exist.
Yet again you’ve brought outrageous beauty to my morning along with a bird I most likely would never have seen in the Great Out There. I MIGHT have heard the song, but these old eyes would probably never have seen this beauty well enough to have identified it. THANK YOU. Thank you seems so inadequate to cover my gratitude, but THANK YOU!
For whatever it’s worth, I never would have seen that leaf in the bottom right corner if you hadn’t mentioned it. My eyes focused entirely on the bird and its immediate surroundings (the service berries). But that brought up a question. Some -ologists have opined that climate change has changed the times when various seeds/berries have ripened, which has impacted the times that migrating/nesting birds have arrived in certain areas and/or has affected their survivability because the seeds/berries they’ve counted on have already ripened and are no longer available to them. Have you seen evidence of that?
Laura, I haven’t noticed any concrete evidence of it. I’ve seen timing variations from year to year but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s caused by climate change. But just because I haven’t noticed it certainly doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.
Thank you for the very kind words.
He’s a stunner, Ron! The photography gods are smiling! Thanks for sharing.
They are indeed. Thanks, Diane.
Great photos! I sure love these birds. If I lived in their range I would be looking for them constantly…what great looking birds.Their soft colors just draw you in… they are muted but blend so beautifully. I certainly envy your access to them.
I photographed several more of them this morning, Kathy. I can’t believe the luck I’ve been having with them lately. I went for years without getting any decent shots of them.
That is interesting about the leaf in the second shot. I honestly did not notice it. Beautiful bird and great shots as always. Wish we had them here, but have never seen one and doubt that we do. Off for some birding myself in a few minutes. Had 3 Black-necked Stilts at one of our lakes yesterday afternoon. Very unusual for this time of year.
Everett, I suspect they at least migrate through your area.
You are right – looked it up and we get them in the winter during migration
Must be guilty conscience. Fosters went up for adoption on Wednesday. 😉 The joys of insomnia.
I’ve been dealing with the same affliction for the last two nights. Mine is probably attributable to prednisone but I’m sure a guilty conscience is also part of the equation… 🙂
Neat! 🙂 Excellent view of the Towhee! He’s REALLY putting himself into the song…. 🙂 Now mystery why they “blend into the woodwork” with their subtle but beautiful coloring……… Glad there is a good crop for them this year – it IS a crap shoot from year to year…….. Gotta have SOME nits to pick…….. 😉
Judy, the contrast between the berry crop (several different kinds) last year as compared to two years ago was striking. Late summer last year must have been a tough time for many bird species around here.
He’s striking a regal pose in the first shot. Didn’t even notice the rogue leaf in the second shot — too busy looking at Mr. G-T belting one out. The vertical crop is perfect! I noticed the red tops of the ripening berries too. 🙂
Thanks, Marty. It’s funny, for me that leaf tip sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb.
Wow, you’re up early. New foster or guilty conscience… 🙂