Some folks are pretty ho-hum about Sage Thrashers. I’m not, especially when I find one on blooming rabbitbrush.
Yesterday morning on Antelope Island was pretty slow for birds. So when I saw a Sage Thrasher land near the base of a sagebrush next to the road in front of me, I decided to try to wait ‘him’ out. I parked next to the sagebush and waited for him to show himself. I probably waited for less than ten minutes but for me it was beginning to feel like forever.
Eventually I got bored, to the point that I’ll admit that I was checking my phone when I happened to look up and my peripheral vision spotted movement in a flowering rabbitbrush right next to the sagebrush I’d been watching.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 1000, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
It was the Sage Thrasher nestled down amongst the flowers. I was shooting through a tunnel of vegetation between us so I’m pretty sure he thought I couldn’t see him. He felt safe enough that he stayed here for a long time, allowing me to take dozens of photos.
He even preened for a while, but I didn’t like any of those shots because I could never see his eye. Most of my photos looked almost exactly like this one.
1/8000, f/6.3, ISO 1600, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
A couple of head turns similar to this one were the only pose variety he gave me, other than preening shots that didn’t appeal to me. I miss seeing his legs and more of his tail but for my tastes, all those flowers make up for it.
Don’t ask me how my ISO got cranked up all the way to 1600. I have no idea. Sometimes cameras have a mind of their own.
When it’s rabbitbrush blooming season I’m always hoping to find birds perched amongst the flowers but it doesn’t happen very often. Rabbitbrush blooms in the fall and Sage Thrashers migrate in early fall, so by blooming time most Sage Thrashers have left my area for the winter.
A quick search of the Sage Thrasher photos I’ve posted to my blog suggests that this is the first time I’ve photographed a thrasher on blooming rabbitbrush. After all these years, it’s about time.
Ron
Note: I have friends who dread rabbitbrush blooming season because they’re highly allergic to rabbitbrush pollen. The species name of some rabbitbrush is “nauseosa”, referring to the smell given off when the leaves or flowers are crushed. That smell is described as “pineapple-like” by some but “foul and rubbery” by others.
Thankfully, I don’t have either problem so I’m a big fan of blooming rabbitbrush.
Beautiful photos, and a bird I’m not very familiar with. I do think that just about any animal looks better on Rabbitbrush – I love watching bees swarm around a blooming rabbitbrush. Very interesting to hear about Sage Thrasher mimicry skills – reminds me of the Mockingbirds I grew up with but don’t see very often anymore.
“I do think that just about any animal looks better on Rabbitbrush.”
Good point, Bill. Especially when it’s blooming.
What stunning light and setting.
I am very glad that the sage thrasher thought he/she was unseen.
Me too, EC. Thanks.
This is a beautiful bird, and beautiful foliage. Worth your patience to capture the image. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one. Thank you!
Carolyn, their range is pretty much restricted to the western US and northern Mexico, so lots of folks have never seen them. And never will.
Beautiful photos of an elusive bird. It’s hard to feel ho-hum about a SageThrasher. First, because I have to travel across the mountains over to the desert to find them ,,so I don’t see them often. Once you’ve heard them sing you can only marvel at their ability to vocalize. They are one ofr the best mimics in the country. I remember watching a Sage Thrasher doing perfect imitations of other nearby birds. A perfect Sora, a Red-winged Blackbird, a Western Meadowlark and then a Brewer’s Sparrow. Perfect imitations that would have fooled me had I not watched him do it. They can have an amazing vocal display. Thanks for a close look.
Thanks, Dan. You’re certainly right about their mimicry skills. And I have a blast with them in spring and early summer, trying to photograph their vertical flight displays.
I really like the second shot! Rabbit brush doesn’t bother me. My parents have it along their parking strips.
Thanks, April. I wish I had some in my yard.
Love Diane’s “dapper” descriptor. Thrashers spend so much of their time running deep in the underbrush that it is a treat to see one out in the open. Thank you for your patience and capturing these photos.
Thanks, Michael. I like Diane’s descriptor too.
Love this, Ron. Such a dapper bird. I can almost smell the campfire and hear the rustling leaves underfoot.
Thanks, Diane. Campfires are banned on the island right now… 🙂
Beautiful! The light on the blooming bush and Sage Thrasher nestled among the blooms works VERY well! 🙂
See your e-mail format has changed a bit…….
“See your e-mail format has changed a bit”
More than a bit, Judy. I didn’t change the email settings so it must be a hiccup with WordPress and I don’t like it. I hope I can change it back.
Thanks for the heads up. I hadn’t noticed the change.