Tag Archives: Brown Thrasher

Brown thrashers never fail to stir excitement

Posted on by
3
Photo by Chris Bosak Brown thrashers at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pa., May 2025.

Brown thrashers are one of my favorite birds. I think I’ve now said that about 88 birds or more. But, really, brown thrashers are one of those birds that make me stop in my tracks every time I see one. In this case, I saw two. Thrashers are usually quite timid and do not allow for a close approach. I didn’t even try to get closer to these birds because I knew what the result would be. So, I let my zoom lens do the work from a distance that would not disturb the birds.

Below are a few shots of just one thrasher. (Just the name itself is awesome.)

Photo by Chris Bosak Brown thrasher at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pa., May 2025.
Photo by Chris Bosak Brown thrasher at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pa., May 2025.
Photo by Chris Bosak Brown thrashers at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pa., May 2025.

For the Birds: Thrasher makes surprise feeder visit

Posted on by
Reply
Phioto by Chris Bosak – A brown thrasher visits a suet feeder in New England, fall 2024.

There are trade-offs with everything in life.

When I lived in my house in the woods years ago, the action at the birdfeeder was nonstop with great birds. I never saw a single house sparrow, starling, or pigeon the entire time I lived there.

On the other hand, it took 20 minutes to drive to the nearest grocery store or restaurant. Nothing except a few trails through the woods, a small lake and a pond were within walking distance. That suited me just fine when I wanted to look for birds or simply take a nice peaceful walk, which was often. It didn’t do me much good when I needed food, however.

Now that I live close to a downtown area of a small town, I can walk to the grocery store, restaurants, and just about anything else I need. The flip side, of course, is that the action at the birdfeeder is not as robust. It is not void of birds by any stretch, but house sparrows and starlings are the most frequent visitors, sometimes converging on the feeders in great numbers.

Continue reading →

For the Birds: Brown thrasher spices up early spring walk

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Chris Bosak – A brown thrasher perches in New England, April 2024.

The Merlin app really came through this time.

I have written about the smartphone application that identifies birds by their songs and calls a few times before. I always stress, and I’m sure the app creators would agree, to confirm identifications by sight if you can find the bird.

The other day I was walking at a park, and the app showed that a brown thrasher was singing nearby. The app included a red dot by the species name, signifying that it is a rare bird to be seen where I was walking.

My immediate reaction, as a skeptic, was to not believe the app and assume it was a mockingbird instead. I have seen mockingbirds where I was walking several times. Brown thrashers are mimics like mockingbirds, so the misidentification would be understandable.

Continue reading →

For the Birds: Brown thrasher — talkative entertainer

Posted on by
1

Photo by Chris Bosak A brown thrasher checks out its surroundings in New England.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A brown thrasher checks out its surroundings in New England.

It’s usually not easy and this time was no exception. It took a little coaxing to get the bird to show itself.

Eventually the brown thrasher flew out of the thicket and landed at the top of a tall shrub to check out its surroundings and sing a few notes. Once a brown thrasher gets going vocally, it rarely lacks for something to say. It can go on and on for hours.

This bird, however, instead of breaking into its incredible repertoire of songs and mimicry, simply repeated its nonmusical call note.

 I watched for a long time as the bird afforded me a close view. From my experiences, brown thrashers are usually skittish, but every so often one will allow for long observation. Another problem is, I don’t find them often enough. A few times a year is about the extent of my brown thrasher sightings.

Many conservationists worry about the status of the brown thrasher. Most would agree that the population is in decline, but the extent to which is up for debate. From my experiences, I’ve never had much luck finding them, so it’s hard for me to form an opinion based on my own anecdotal evidence.

Continue reading →

Towhees and thrasher in the snow

Posted on by
1

Photo by Chris Bosak An Eastern Towhee eats a crab apple during a cold winter day at Weed Beach in Darien, CT., Jan. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
An Eastern Towhee eats a crab apple during a cold winter day at Weed Beach in Darien, CT., Jan. 2014.

It was bitterly cold, but bright and sunny. Perfect day for a quick bird walk. Perfect day for a long bird walk, too, but I had limited time before my son Will’s basketball game, so it had to be a quick one.

After seeing a few Fox Sparrows at Weed Beach in Darien, Conn., as soon as the walk started, the only species I could find was White-throated Sparrow. And there were lots of them. I love my White-throated Sparrows, of course, so I’m not complaining. My eyes, however, were darting around the brush for other birding goodies.

Trudging through the snow and doing my best to ignore the

More photos below, click on “continue reading.”

Continue reading →