Saturday, February 14, 2015

Brown Thrasher

 This morning started out with mixed blessings. Around 9 a.m., I headed to Cape Spear. There was a very large flock of eider on the water. Checking them over I saw two male King Eider, from my shaking car with my binoculars. The downside was the wind was blowing so hard I couldn't bring myself to walk down to the water's edge.
 Another opportunity missed was the juvenile Peregrine Falcon that flew near the edge of the rocks below.  The best pictures I could get was when it lifted upward and flew off into the distance.
 Then, out of nowhere, I got a text from Alison Mews. She and Alvan Buckley were looking at a Brown Thrasher at Pippy Park, not 1 km from my house (as the crow flies.)
 I skedaddled out of Cape Spear and wished I had a police escort to get me to Pippy Park quickly.
When I arrived, the Brown Thrasher was nowhere in sight. I waited for two hours with no luck, along with many others. Aside: It is amazing how so many people can drop everything and go hunting when a rare bird is reported.
 I took about an hour break and returned to the park. Voila! There it was all lined up by several very excited birders.
I have to admit I was pretty excited, too. I have seen numerous Brown Thrashers in Arkansas and have been wondering if I would EVER see one here. Well, I did. Word has it the bird has been around awhile so I may get yet another look at it.

1 comment:

  1. Great photos!!
    Looks like you got way better looks than I did - I'll have to take the long way home from school this week ;)

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