WINGSCAPES

The Song That Could Have Been

What if back in 1968, while engrossed in writing the lyrics to the songs to be included in what would eventually become The White Album, Paul McCartney had looked out of his window and seen a sight similar to the one below? Would we have instead been singing “Blackbird sitting in a flower pot…” all this time?

 

Perhaps, although not very likely. Sir Paul’s famous song "Blackbird" was about something entirely different than the simple enjoyment of the melodies produced by these marvelous singing thrushes. Nevertheless, our sincere thanks go out to John from Farnham Common, UK for sharing this wonderful BirdCam image of his own garden Blackbird with us.

Clay-colored Robin!

For birders, the Clay-colored Robin is one of those special birds that when added to one’s life list gives a little more satisfaction than the average life bird. In the U.S., the Clay-colored Robin is generally only found in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, which is where thousands of birders flock each year to see it and other “valley specialties.”

However in Coast Rica, where it is the national bird, Clay-colored Robins are feeder visitors – as was recently demonstrated by Rey from Orotina, Costa Rica when he uploaded this great picture of one perched atop a fruit feeder on his property there.

First Varied Thrush of the Season

As the temperatures in northwest Oregon dipped down into the teens (and even below), the chance of the Varied Thrushes making their winter migration down to the foothills was at its peak. Sure enough, at 2:37 PM, the first Varied Thrush of the season for our property was recorded by the Wingscapes BirdCam.

Regular readers will please excuse my erroneous previous prediction that the season’s first thrush would appear in a slightly different location on the property. The important thing is that they are now here and we are very excited indeed.

Watch This Space

Any day now, I will check the images from the BirdCam I have aimed at this exact space on our property and there will be seen in at least one of them the most beautiful of winter’s familiar birds – the Varied Thrush.

Each December they come down into the lowlands when the snows blanket the ground at the upper elevations and the soft-bodied insects on which they dine become difficult to locate. Be assured that as soon as this happens, you will see an image of the discovery posted here. Stay tuned.

Face to Face with a Varied Thrush

...from our series "Catching up the Items to Blog Backlog"...

On Valentines Day, the Flycatcher posted these great shots of a Varied Thrush.

He writes:

Today the BirdCam captured an eye-level view of the Varied Thrush that has decided that my yard is his yard. It's ok with me, but since the weather has turned very spring-like, and the daffodils are about to bloom, I don't expect him to stay much longer. As soon as the snow melts in the high hills, he will be off to reclaim his territory in the quiet, cool, green spaces under the tall firs.

A Matter of Perspective

The Born Again Bird Watcher posted this interesting article about size differences between the Varied Thrush and the Dark-eyed Junco. 

He also captured the first photograph of a Varied Thrush with the BirdCam so we have added it to our BirdCam Life List.

John Writes:

As the juncos were joined by a group of Golden-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia atricapilla) this morning, I moved the Wingscapes BirdCam from one of the feeder posts down to a ground level location known to be a clustering area for many of sparrow species that visit the property in hope of adding a few photos of a Golden-crowned to my expanding bird image collection. When I retrieved the images from the camera this afternoon, the answer to my junco-startling thrush conundrum was discovered.

Waxwings - Wingscapes' Most Wanted!

It is worth noting that during this experiment with the Eye-Fi card (see previous post), I added another species to the BirdCam's life-list: the Cedar Waxwing. This is one of my favorite birds, and along with the Northern Flicker, it is one that I've wanted badly to capture with the BirdCam. While both happen through our yard every winter, neither frequents bird feeders. The Waxwings were hitting the bath this morning amid a massive flock of Robins, so I was able to capture a few shots. I've seen a Yellow-Hammer (Alabama slang for our state bird) at this bath, so I feel good about capturing that one as well.

Current "Wingscapes BirdCam Most Wanted" List:
- Northern Flicker
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- ANY Raptor
- Oh yeah...Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

NOTE: these images are slightly out of focus. I set the BirdCam focus ring to the closest setting (18"-24") and the bath is just beyond that range. If you look at the whole photo album, you will see shots with sharply-focused birds on the railing in front of the bath.