Sage Thrasher

On By Mike and Christy3 Comments

We watched and mostly listened as this male Sage Thrasher sang his long and complex song from the top a the sage brush on a quiet dirt road near Walden, CO.

According to All About Birds “males have long, complex, melodic songs, with remarkable variety. The rambling series of phrases, often preceded by soft clucking notes, is continuous and interspersed with moments of repetition and mimicry. Songs can be very long indeed; one male was recorded singing for 22 minutes straight.”

While this guys song was not a whopping 22 minutes it did go on and on leaving me out of breath just listening.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sage_Thrasher/sounds

Breakfast of Champions

On By Mike and Christy1 Comment

Oyster_catcher_5

We think Wheaties whereas Pacific Oyster Catchers prefer limpets. We have always had a hard time getting close enough to oyster catchers to get a really good photograph but this day low tide and the lure of a beach teaming with limpets must have outweighed their concern for our presence. There were two Oyster Catchers each going to town on the limpet population on this rocky beach. They would pry them up and them swallow them whole. A true breakfast of champions.