Whether I am at home in Northern Illinois listening to a Wood Thrush or out West listening to a Hermit or Swainson's Thrush, in my opinion, the thrushes have some of the most beautiful songs in the bird world. One reason for this is that they have the ability to sing more than one note simultaneously. I am also convinced that they can throw thier voice. I can be in the woods chasing a Wood Thrush and it sounds like I am literally next to it, and still cannot spot its location. Then I hear it in another spot, follow that song, and still not see the bird. Of course, their brown feathers blending into the forest is probably the real reason I cannot spot them. And when I do, they are too far away, too hidden, or it is too dark to get a decent photo. Nevertheless, hiking in Colorado, it is the Hermit Thrush that always seems to avoid my viewfinder. They are more prone to be in the open than the Wood Thrush (which always seems to be behind a branch); however, they are very sly at always seeming to be in a position with their back to me or half-hidden behind a fallen log or bush. Of all the attempts of photographing a Thrush, only once I came away with a good picture, and I wasn't even stalking it. I was actually stalking a Coati-Mundi (Below top, 12-27-09) during one of our Winter Break migrations to Arizona, when a Hermit Thrush (Below bottom, 12-27-09) landed on the ground in front of me.. What fantastic luck - getting two wildlife photo ops within ten seconds of eachother.
Coati-Mundi
Hermit Thrush
I labelled the photographs, just in case you didn't know which one was the Hermit Thrush.
2 comments:
I don't think I was lucky enough to see a thrush or a snipe, for that matter! I told my husband and kids we were going on a snipe hunt (I even offered the kids money to find one LOL)....but we never did spot one, we saw tons of mountain bluebirds, humming birds, clark nutcrackers, but no snipes! :) This time we didn't even see a coyete (which we normally do)...I think the park was just way to crowded this time of year...I like our Oct trips there much better! But it was fun all the same!
Because of my schedule, I very seldom have time to do any travelling in the Fall - someday. I hope, at least, you had fun looking for a Snipe. There are also lots of Lincoln and Savannah Sparrows in the same area as where I saw the Snipe.
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