Monday, March 6, 2017

A big song bird and camellia blooms. . . . . . . . .


A relatively secret bird, the Brown thrasher can be uncooperative in offering
 up its song or the songs of other birds it often mimics. However, when the male does
 let loose, it can display the largest repertoire of any North American bird. . . . .an
 amazing 1,200 songs have been documented!
It usually sings from a perch high in the treetops when hoping to claim a mate, 
and territory. Personally I've only been privy to that amazing concert once, and
 that was several years ago. 
At this time of year, this quite large bird at 11.5 inches in length, stays closer to the
 ground foraging through leaf litter, thrashing its bill from side to side to expose
 spiders and insects - this movement gives it the name 'thrasher'.
Only during winter will it come to feeders, but you can attract it to your garden
with berry-producing plants such as hollies, elderberry, mulberry. . . . . . . . and
of course a water source. A couple of years back a pair nested at eye level in my
 large variegated privet shrub, I loved seeing them closeup.
 Here, my recent visitor tried out two of my back garden baths, and I was able
 to get a few good photos from the window.


Camellia japonica - the Rose of Winter - blooms are profuse this year - I have two
 now quite large bushes in the garden, both this color. Neighbors have beautiful
 pale pink ones - I should get one of those planted too!



Such beautiful markings on the Brown thrasher's chest and wings, plus the gleaming
 yellow eyes. Male and female are similar so not sure which this one is.

If you are within the range of this bird I hope you have them in your garden -
they are fun to watch and perhaps, some day if you're lucky, you'll hear one
 serenading non-stop from a treetop.


19 comments:

  1. Beautiful pictures! I love bird watching. Saw a crow today and believe it or not, I've never seen one in Kuwait before. In Dubai yes, but never here. Glad to see that you've got some beautiful flowers blooming over there. Our days are starting to get warmer. No need for the heaters anymore. Winter is over. Still nice out, but the heat is coming. Not looking forward to that.

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  2. You have captured the Brown Thrasher brilliantly and what wonderful yellow eyes he has - does he look a bit like our Thrush? Love the Camellia Japonica too.

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  3. The Brown Thrasher is so pretty!

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  4. What a beautiful bird - and the photos are so intense and colorful. I've only seen a Brown Thrasher one time - in WV when we were visiting our son and DIL and grandson. I saw some movement along the bottom of a pile of vine clippings in a park. If it hadn't been for those little movements we would have missed the bird completely. He wasn't singing but I did get some photos of him daring about. I wish our camelias were blooming - we just had an hour long blizzard-like snowstorm - then it stopped and now the sun is out - ooops - there it goes behind a cloud. It is supposed to be like this for at least a week - more than likely we won't get any accumulation of snow, as the temperatures are just above freezing. I also enjoyed your pretty pansies in your other blog - oh how I long for spring.

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  5. What lovely blooms your rose of winter has. Your shots of the birds are awesome. I can't believe how clear they are. Did you have to zoom in a lot or where they quite close?

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    1. Loree - from the windows to the bird baths in the back garden is only about 5 yards. I do zoom in of course to get the details of the feathers such as these pix show. I really need to have a camera hanging around my neck constantly as we have great bird activity all day long - maybe due to keeping the feeders filled (they eat well!) and topping up the water supply in the baths. We do love our birds.
      Mary -

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  6. He looks a bit like a Northern Flicker on the chest. It's a beauty of a bird. I have never seen one here. And the blooms are gorgeous.

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  7. The clarity of your photos is just amazing, Mary. It's as if I could reach into the screen and touch the bird.
    Very interesting facts about the brown thrasher. I must pay more attention to those brown birds I see. I tend to be more interested in the colorful ones. Your camellias are so pretty. I have several in my garden and enjoy them immensely.
    By the way, thanks for saving me money this morning. ;).

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  8. Your Brown Trasher is just gorgeous! What lovely pictures of him. I hope he sings for you. The red camellias are lovely too. They are so fun to see blooming at this time of the year. We have a few blooms in red and in white, but the pink ones haven't shown there pretty faces yet.

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  9. I never see them anywhere near my house but see them out in other areas...love seeing them. These are wonderful photos.

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  10. What gorgeous pictures of the thrasher, Mary. I don't see them very often and had no idea they even sang, let alone such a large repertoire. I'm going to have to keep an eye out.

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    1. . . . . . hope you see some and perhaps they will be singing - they will not come 'knocking on your windows' like the geese, haha!
      Mary -

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  11. Both bird and flowers are beautiful! Thank you for sharing them. As always, your pictures are great! I didn't know this particular bird.

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  12. Bom dia, fiquei encantado com a partilha das suas belas fotos, elas são maravilhosas na cor e na qualidade, mostram na perfeição os detalhes.
    AG

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    1. Obrigado Antonio! Your photos are wonderful - and your music. I loved visiting your beautiful country last December.
      Thanks for stopping by.
      Mary -

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  13. I had no idea the thrasher was such a prolific singer! Sounds like he rivals the mockingbird. How wonderful to learn this. LOVED your awesome photos of him, too.

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  14. OH! My husband and I love the brown thrasher! (It is the state bird of Georgia!) At first, the brown thrasher was a bit shy in our yard, we only saw him on the edges of our yard, "thrashing" around for insects but NOW, we are so lucky, he is a regular visitor to our tiny patio which has seeds and water.
    To watch this large bird bathe in a small plastic dish is something to see! And when it drinks...the long bill dips into the water and oh so elegantly does he tilt his head back to allow the water to go down his throat! Lovely bird, and up close, the markings are gorgeous!
    And I say "he" but we just recently saw both the male and female, hope for baby thrashers soon!!

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  15. Wonderful photos of this stately bird! I will be keeping an eye out for them here in Kansas.

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  16. I never cease being amazed by all your birds! I thought my mother had a lot in Norfolk but your garden has even more I think! incredible varieties I've not even heard of previously. So loving your photos os each darling little feathered friend, Mary. Thank you for sharing them with us.

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