Copyright ©2020 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Last week-end I went camping with two girlfriends to do some nature photography. We car camped each taking our own cars and caravanning up and down the northern part of the Eastern Sierras.
We were in Mono Basin when we heard this bird singing a song that was unfamiliar to me or my friends. I turned to follow the song and saw this bird. I had no idea what kind of bird it was, but I only got two quick shots before it disappeared into the sagebrush.
Once at home I was able to ID the bird as the Sage Thrasher- A Lifer for me!
They live in the Western Region of the USA, as well as Mexico and Baja California. They prefer sagebrush and arid planes. The east side of the Eastern Sierras is sagebrush and arid! I’m linking Whataboutbird.com so you can read more about this bird and hear it’s lovely songs. https://identify.whatbird.com/obj/591/overview/Sage_Thrasher.aspx
I’m also participating in Lisa’s of Our Eyes Open weekly bird challenge. You know I don’t do many challenges, but birds. I couldn’t resist! 😀
I hope you’re all doing well, and have a lovely week-end!
Fuji X-T3| Fujinon XF100-400mm| PS CC 21.1.2
more to come…
Circadianreflections Blog 
You captured the bird beautifully!
Fantastic image and sighting, Deborah. Congrats! 🙂
Thank you so much, Jane! This way a wonderful gift! I knew moving to a different state would be good for us, but I never imagined seeing so many different new birds! It’s been amazing!
I love this composition, Deborah! Hooray, a “lifer”!! That makes it even more exciting. I hope you had tons of fun on your camping trip! 🙂
Thank you so much, Amy! It was fun, windy and cold, but fun!
Splendid capture!
Thanks, Sue! 😀
A lifer, now that is fun birding, congratulations! You got a good capture too.
It does make birding more exciting. Thank you so much, John!
I visited Mono Lake only once, in the 1980s, and took some black and white pictures. I’d love to go back for more one of these days.
I hope you do get a chance to go back and see how it looks now. They’re letting it -the lake fill back up naturally so one day all those Tufas will be underwater again. I’m glad I have seen them above ground.
Then I’d better try to get there in the not-too-distant future, as I’m not a scuba diver.
You have time since they’re letting it happen naturally. 😀
Congrats on this beauty, Deborah! Your quickness nailed a beautiful capture and another check on the list! 😍
Thank you so much, Donna! It was a nice surprise!
We see the brown thrasher here. It shares the same direct eye. Very nice Deborah!
Thank you so much, Belinda! The Brown type would be a lifer for me too! 😀
What a wonderful shot! Made the whole trip. I’m sure!
Thank you so much, Marina! It was one of a few things that made the trip fun.
Gorgeous photograph!
Thank you so much, Kendall!
Welcome!
😀
An amazing capture, Deborah! Stunning! You have to be fast and still. Yay! “A Lifer!”
Thank you so much, Erica! Still wasn’t easy we had pretty strong winds that day. Sustained 14mph with gusts that were twice that!
It’s still pretty windy here at home too.
Your photo is a work of art such great balance in many directions.
Thank you so much for your visit and comment!! I appreiciate it very much.
That’s much more than a decent shot. Well done, you! The color of the bird and the bush/sage go perfectly together…hence the name, I would guess. 🙂 I recognize some of my bird friends in your collage.
Have a great weekend!
janet
P.S. Just out of curiosity, how far are you from Lake Mead?
Thank you so much, Janet!! The collage is Lisa’s Weekly Bird theme badge and all those birds are hers I believe. I thought I’d share her badge. Maybe it needed to be smaller so people would get that?
She’s got some great birds in it doesn’t she?
I’m nearly 8 hours drive from Lake Mead with no stops, but you know there will be stops for gas, and food. 😀 Are you fairly close to it?
No. Our son-in-law has relatives in that area so I was curious. I think it’s about six hours + from us.
A long drive for you too then. 😀
Yes. Just had thoughts about combining a trip to visit you with a stop there and a possibly a free place to stay. 🙂
Good thought!
Oh, don’t worry. I’ll get there one of these days. 😁
Fingers crossed!
It’s a promise…or a threat, however you look at it. 😘😁
LOL!
Great capture! 🙂
Thanks, Pit! 😀
Nice shot, Deborah! Did you get you new red dot sight to work? I just took my camera out for a test spin and did some urban birding in my neighborhood; found a resident hummer, Blue Heron (which caught and ate a gopher the other day but my manual focus was juggled into active mode so my AF missed many of those shots) and a Redtail Hawk. My new camera has this neat feature called Pro Capture that runs a continuous loop of photos which replaces the oldest photo in the loop when it reaches capacity prior to depressing the shutter release (sort of like running your car in idle) so when you depress the shutter release (reactively to the action) you can get shots prior to what you shot. I waited for the hawk to take flight but missed the take off being a fraction slower in reaction but I got the Pro Capture of the hawk getting ready to jump and actual takeoff. Really neat! Can be seen on my flicker site.
Oh, I like the sound of your new camera’s feature Pro Capture!
I couldn’t get ever get the dot and my focus spot to sync so I returned it. My next door neighbor bought the one you have and she was playing with it a little bit on our camping trip. I don’t know if she was able to get the focus and dot synced up either. I’ll have to ask her. I told her if has luck with the sight I’d spend the money and get that one.
It sounds like you had a lovely bird walk!
Thanks for the visit and sharing your bird walk. I’ll go check out your Red-tail Hawk image!
Amazing shot, and he couldn’t have picked a better spot to land on. It really could be on display – it’s wonderful. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you so much, Judy! 💚
Great shot. I’m glad you could identify the bird. When you go car camping where do you park?
Thank you so much, John! The first night we roughed it out in the BLM land, but the second night we stayed in an RV/Campground that opened up to tent and car campers.
Thanks for the information
You’re welcome!
That’s a wonderful photo. I love the composition. He looks so good against those bare branches. You do good work under pressure 😉
Ah, thank you so much, Dan!
This is fantastic! The Sage Thrasher would be a lifer for me as well. Looks similar to our Brown Thrasher, just not as vibrant of colors. That yellow eye tells it all though! Thanks for being my first participant! 🙂 Happy Birding!
Thank you, Lisa! I’m looking forward to the next 12 weeks of your challenge!
Thanks for the support. I look forward to seeing what you find on your adventures. I’ll add more as we go along. 😊
You’re welcome! I’m looking forward to it!
🙂
Your photo is so wonderfully composed… just perfect.
Thank you so much, Janis! 😀
Well, congrats for again a lifer Deborah! Wonderful picture it is, the ashwhite bush and the this great little bird carefully watching.
Thank you so much, Peter!
Your photography continues to amaze me … even after I thought you couldn’t elevate it any more! I’m loving the white brush against the soft green background. In my opinion, this shot goes well beyond decent!
Thank you so much, Joanne! I’ll float on this compliment all day! 💚
Congrats on a lifer, always a thrill and you got a shot!
Thank you so much, Brian! It was neat seeing and hearing it. I’m glad I got a decent shot! 😀