The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology describes the Townsend’s Solitaire as “A long-tailed gray bird of the high western mountains, the Townsend’s Solitaire descends in the winter to lower elevations where it feeds almost exclusively on juniper berries. ”
That pretty much sums up our experience with these birds. We see them only in winter and always in, around and defending their patch of Juniper berries.
Although described as grey they are much more than that and deserving of the spotlight on a stage all their own.

so beautfiul!! ❤
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Thanks Jacky.
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Amazing shot!
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Thanks and thanks for the feedback. We really appreciate it. Hope your weekend is treating you well.
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Nice capture. Their song makes up for the grayness.
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Hi, we have not heard them singing but will pay attention next time we are in their area.
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I love this capture!
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Thanks, it was a fun one to develop. Hope you are having a great day and wonderful weekend.
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A great day to sit in front of the fire, after clearing the sidewalk, and ice off of the vehicles. tc
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Hi, sounds very similar to my day. Woke to 8-9 inches of snow and it’s darn cold out there today. Stay warm.
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Beautiful portrait Mike! I love these birds. They sing such a sweet subtle robin like song right now when all the others are not singing. Also do a repeating one note, just to let you know they are there. So sweet.
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HI and thanks for the information on their song. We have not really noticed them singing but will pay more attention next time we see them. Would love to have them around here in the winter but it is probably a bit too cold. Hope you are having a great day.
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Nice highlighting – love the white eye-ring and scissor-tail.
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Hi Eliza, they do have that nice long tail which is not all that common for the birds we have around here. Hope the day is going well. We got a bit of that arctic blast last night and it’s cold here today.
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Mike I really liked the idea of composing the gray bird in an completely black background…nice work!!!
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Thanks, I monkeyed around with this image for quite some time and finally decided on the black instead of the pure blue sky it was shot against. Just seem to make this bird pop out in a good way.
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Just a great shot!
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Thanks.
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Lovely image, spotlight was a great choice for this shot.
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Thanks, these are cool birds and this one did deserve the spotlight. Hope you are having a great weekend.
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Nice!!
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Thanks. Hope your weekend is treating you well.
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