Tuesday, May 13, 2008

I am not a birder, not that there’s anything wrong with that. I just like taking the pictures. I don’t really know the species. I just know some of the basics. Blue Jays are blue. Cardinals are the red ones. Crows are black, Seagulls are white, and they’re both noisy. Beyond that, I need to hit the field guides for clues.

These are two shots I took at David Weld Sanctuary about three weeks ago. This guy was singing away in a dense thicket. It was his voice that caught my attention. Had he not been singing I probably would never have noticed him, but he was putting down some great licks and I wanted to find out who he was.

When I got home and was reviewing the day’s catch I pulled out my Sibley’s and tried to identify this Robin-sized songster. My first guess was a Wood Thrush. But the eyes weren’t right. Wood Thrushes have all brown eyes and this guy has a dark pupil with a golden ring around it. Also, the Wood Thrush has a comparatively smaller tail than this bird. And this bird has a long thinnish bill that Wood Thrushes do not have. So it was back to turning pages. And lo, five pages later was my bird, a Brown Thrasher. Or at least I think it is. I can’t be sure because I am not a birder. But perhaps some of you are and can confirm or contest my guess. At any rate, here is another pic of this guy belting out a tune. Go baby go. JK