Christmas colors in July.
1/1000, 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
I have very few opportunities with Cassin’s Finches so I was delighted to photograph this male five summers ago during a camping trip to Montana. Their typical habitat during the breeding season is “open coniferous forests of interior western mountains” so this setting is just about perfect for the species and I think it’s a very attractive setting to boot.
1/1000, 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
Something in the tree caught his attention so in an attempt to see it he stretched out as far as he could. The conifer needles behind him provide a measuring stick for how far he was able to stretch and his pose allowed me to crop differently to include the conifer twig at upper right. That crop was also a bit of a stretch but I couldn’t see cutting the twig off.
Folks in some other parts of North America see the very similar Purple Finch instead of the Cassin’s Finch. I once read that Roger Tory Peterson famously described the Purple Finch as a “sparrow dipped in raspberry juice” and I think that description fits the Cassin’s Finch almost as well – to the point that Peterson’s words always come to mind when I see a male Cassin’s.
Maybe that’s partly because I love raspberries so much. In fact I’ll be having raspberry preserves on toast as part of my breakfast this morning. Just like I did yesterday morning.
Ron
PS – Some good news!
I’ve been bemoaning our current extreme drought for so long I figured I should let readers know that last evening the seasonal monsoons finally brought some blessed relief all the way up to northern Utah. A 35 minute downpour put 1.4 inches of water in my rain gauge and when it was all over it read 1.45 inches.
During the middle of the worst of the storm I caught my soaking wet next door neighbor on his front lawn doing a pretty spectacular rain dance. He had his shirt off and he was wearing what I can only describe as a shit-eating grin on his face. Watching him prance around in the rain brought a similar grin to my face. Wish I’d taken his picture.
In the 30 years I’ve lived in this house I only remember one other storm that rivaled it. It’s about damned time!
Hi Ron! I had them in my yard in spring. Iām still following you, but Iām off Facebook for the foreseeable future.
Lucky you, Tana. Yes, I knew you were.
Beautiful images. I have two females that stayed in my yard this year.
The rain was great!
Wow, I never see them down in the valley.
I will see if I can snap a photo of them, they like to eat at the feeder by my kitchen window in the early morning.
I have no doubt that you’re seeing them, April. I’m just jealous because I never see them down here in the valley.
Nothing much to add. Thoughtful comments and the photo of the Cassin’s Finch is a nice break from all the House Finches at our feeders. I’m on my way out to do a little (pre)rain dance. I’ll let you know if it works.
Good luck dancin’, Lyle. Apparently the rain gods prefer that you dance with your shirt off. Just sayin…
Lovely photo of this Finch…but I have to say the best part of your post today was your description of your neighbor doing his rain dance…I am still giggling and smiling! Thanks for putting that image in my head š
Karen, I have the actual image(s) in my head. It’s fun to rerun. I loved his spontaneous enthusiasm for the downpour.
WONDERFUL news about the rain. I hope you get some follow up rain as well.
Raspberries are perhaps my favourite berry, so it is no wonder that I have fallen in love with the’ Raspberry Finch’ as well. A truly delightful way to celebrate Christmas in July.
Thanks, EC. You of all people know the therapy much-needed rain brings, in a variety of ways.
I do. And while I haven’t danced in the rain I have gone out and stood in it, looking skywards, with a face splitting smile all over my face.
Beautiful photos. They are mostly east of the Cascades so I donāt see them as often as would be nice.
Cassin is one of the giants in ornithological history. He spent his life trying to understand the taxonomical relationships between different kinds of birds. He didnāt believe that simply collecting and identifying birds, as Audubon and Wilson had done, was sufficient in and of itself. A greater understanding of the birds and their relationships to each other was important to him. Five North American birds carry his name (Cassinās Finch, Cassinās Sparrow, Cassinās Kingbird, Cassinās Vireo and Cassinās Auklet). He had a keen interest in African birds and at least three are named for him. He died in his fifties, most likely from spending his life in a museum and handling the specimens. Arsenic was then used as a preservative and to keep insects away from the specimens and long-term exposure to this likely led to his death, although his health also deteriorated as a result of being captured as a Union soldier and held in a Confederate prison during the Civil War.
Thanks for the detailed history, Dan. I always find that kind of thing interesting. Sounds like Cassin was a little ahead of his time.
Outstanding! Thanks for sharing.
Charlotte Norton
Thanks, Charlotte.
A beautiful portrait of such a colorful bird! And in light of Petersonās description and Everettās explanation of its naming, I endorse āRaspberry Finchā for the new name!
As for your rain, Iām very pleased for you and your fellow Utahns (especially your happy-dancing neighbor), also extremely jealous as all my fellow Californians surely would be!
Thank you, Chris.
I’m not sure how widespread our storm was but I’m hearing from quite a few folks that got significant moisture out of it. And some who didn’t.
Thinking back to the discussion you initiated a while ago regarding for whom our birds are named, I took the time to look up why this finch was named for Cassin. The bird was first described by Spencer F. Baird (1825-1887) who named it for Philadelphia ornithologist John Cassin (1813-1869). The supposed “discoverers” of the species were Dr. C.B.R.Kennedy and H.B. Mollhausen naturalists attached to the Pacific R.R. during the winter of 1853-54 in New Mexico under the command of Lt. A.W. Whipple. Our Fort Whipple here is named for him. John Cassin was the curator of birds at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia where my mom took me when I was in elementary school.
So as in so many cases John Cassin had nothing to do with the discovery of the species and was a third party honoree.
Everett, last night I read on Cornell’s account of the species that Cassin actually asked Spencer Baird to name the finch after him. Sounds like Cassin had a bit of an ego.
Beautiful little birds and 2 lovely portraits! A pleasure to see.
Thanks, Joanne.
Pretty bird. In my early days of learning to be a birder I often passed them by thinking they were House Finches. I always have a couple dozen House Finches in the back yard so was not interested in more photos of them. I think it was just a year ago I learned about the Cassin’s Finches.
Might have been your best post ever had you included your rain dancing neighbor in his shorts.
Ha, I’m not sure my neighbor would have appreciated me making him famous with a photo. He’s very good-natured but that might have been pushing the limits.
Actually I think he had shorts on but now I’m not so sure. He was indeed shirtless though.
I think that the first photo in today’s post is one of the most elegant bird portraits
I’ve ever seen…….the composition of the frame, color balance, the crispest
detail in every sector, and a lovely head-turn with eye-contact and light in the
eye–it hits ALL of the marks !
AND– here in Southern Utah, we had a real frog-strangler yesterday, too–
up and down my street neighbors were out on their front porches jumping
for joy !
Thanks, Kris. I think that first photo is pretty special too.
“Frog-strangler”, I like that.
It DOES look like a Purple Finch which we see occasionally….. š Interesting how it’s right foot is not really grasping the branch.
Hopefully the rain running that fast will give local ponds and the lake a bit of a break plus wash everything else down! Luv the “rain dance” the neighbor was doing. Hope your garden didn’t get smashed in the process!
No rain but it DID finally cool off some last night – 48 this morning – wonderful, cool, sleep with no AC or smoke eater running.
Judy, I think the garden came out relatively unscathed, in part because I had good timing for a change. I have lots of Amaranth out there and some if it is 9 feet tall. All the Amaranth would have blown over if I hadn’t staked it only a couple of days before the storm.
Purdy bird! the feather detail is amazing. You should have photo’d your neighbor!!!
Thanks, Terri. I was standing at my open garage door and had left my phone (camera) in the far part of the house. Next time. I hope there is a next time.