Friday’s Feathered Friends-Sage Thrasher

Posted in Bird Photography, birding, Birding in Nevada, Friday's Feathered Friends, Fuji X-T3Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Copyright ©2021 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

My neighbor and I have begun taking our cameras on our walks because we’re seeing more and more of the Spring migrating birds passing though. Last week on a longer walk to another neighborhood we spotted this guy eating those Russian Olives. Don’t they look like pearls?

Sage Thrasher

They are the smallest of the Thrashers and love the sagebrush of the western states. We’re on the western edge of its breeding territory. They mimic other birds while they sing. I didn’t hear this one singing though.

I was surprised to see this one up in tree! They usually are hanging around the sagebrush and will hide in it.

I hope you all have a great weekend, and if you’re watching the game I hope your team wins.

Fuji X-T3| Fuji 100-400mm| PS CC 22.1.1

more to come…

45 thoughts on “Friday’s Feathered Friends-Sage Thrasher”

  7. Nice capture Deborah! That’s a plump Sage Thrasher; guess the cold weather makes animals and humans gain some extra weight to keep the chill off.

    I went out to Pacifica’s Mori Point last Thursday in the late afternoon hoping to see a whale but was skunked again. I kept looking for something to shoot and a bird flew by so I watched it to see where it would land. The physical image made me think it was something different from the normal seabirds in the area. It landed on the side of the cliff on a very small perch so I took a few shots to see what kind of bird it was. I found the Pacifica Peregrine Falcon! I hoped it would take flight again so I could get a BIF shot but it stayed on that perch for a long time while I took occasional blast shots hoping to get it taking off and while preoccupied the sun started to set behind me. I turned to shoot the sunset as it hit the horizon and wasn’t set up with my wide angle and filters so I was rushing to switch lenses. When I looked back at the falcon it was gone but I now know where its perch is (the guano on the cliff indicates to me that was it’s spot). I still have to pp and image but I’m deleting over a couple of thousand shots first (blast mode with electronic shutter certainly depletes the battery and memory card).

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  10. I wonder whether they like whatever sort of olives they grew at Queen Creek Olive Mill. 🙂 I really need to take my camera with my next time I go there for shopping and coffee. They have a large seating area under olives trees and there are always sparrow and grackles around but who knows? Maybe one of these cuties will show up.

    Lovely shot!

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  15. What an excellent find and a superb photo, Deborah. The California thrasher is more common in Northern California, so how very exciting to find a sage thrasher. I have never seen one. And plucking at unripe olives, too. Thanks for taking us with you, this was fantastic.

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  16. Before I open up your posts now, Deborah, my mouth begins to form “wow!” You take such amazing photos. Each one could be placed on a feature wall. I also understand now, why people become “bird watchers.” This sage thrasher is beautiful and it looks like it has something between its beak….or an illusion.🙂

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  17. Go Bears! Oh, wait….

    I was surprised to see the bird in the tree, as well! Another species eating those darned fruits. hm. I think it is great that you are seeing spring migrants coming through already. Hard to imagine as we plunge into single digits here for the foreseeable future.

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