Varied Thrush

While still cold, the sun was shining and I needed to get out for a walk before the day ended. While I was not finding a hole lot,

… I did come across a few Varied Thrush.

They were busy back and forth between the trees,

… and occasionally foraging on the ground. While not quite the shots I would like, it was still good to see them and have a chance at some photos.

A little gloomy today, but still nice to get out for a walk. This afternoon’s destination was Brunswick Point. Another location where I have had recent glimpses of my current nemesis bird, the Swamp Sparrow. While watching some Robins at the beginning of the trail,

… a pleasant surprise was this Varied Thrush.

While not uncommon, the Varied Thrush is still a good bird for this area. Just unfortunate the light was not a little better, but I still managed a couple of shots. As for the rest of the walk, no sign of the Swamp Sparrow or many others for that matter. Another bird conspicuously absent was Short-eared Owl.

Thrush & Bluetail

I was out last Friday to try and get some more photos of the Red-flanked Bluetail, but did not succeed in getting anything better. The plan was to set up in area I knew from previous observations it liked to frequent and even pause for a moment. Unfortunately there were too many people chasing the bird from tree to tree and on more than one occasion, wandering through where I was set up as the bird was approaching. A little frustrating to say the least.

Consolation bird for the day was this Varied Thrush.

I returned again this afternoon and the plan was the same. I set up in an area I knew the bird likes to return to, and as I noted above, will actually pause for a while if not disturbed. It came close a couple of times, but still had people tagging along. After a couple of hours I could see the bird approaching once more and this time the people were a little further behind it.

Finally it came in to the spot where I was waiting.

And as I had observed before it seemed content to rest briefly,

… until the small group of birders once again approached too close and flushed it. At least this time I managed a couple of better shots and a little patience paid off.