From a small town to a big city...
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A Birding Blog
By Jared Conaway
From a small town to a big city...
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Hello all! I had a unique and wonderful day today! After all, today was my first birding adventure centered around chasing a Thrasher- but not just any Thrasher... THE Thrasher! I think y'all no what I'm talking about: The Thrasher Lord! They say the Thrasher Lord resides at TNN headquarters, west of Buckeye in Maricopa County, AZ. So what is TNN, where exactly is it, and what does this have to do with birding? Great question! TNN, also known as Thrasher News Network, is located at the world-renowned Thrasher Spot, the HQ for TNN. Why only 1 place in the county overrun by Thrashers? Because, TNN hosted an episode back in the day, showcasing and touring the area to suggest it as suitable habitat for all western Thrashers. After the episode's very first air, it became a constant location to showcase on HGTV for Thrashers and Thrasher social media. It was a Thrasher hotspot, they all fell in love with the place, and they all moved in. This eventually lead to an awareness among birders as the best location in North America to see a LeConte's Thrasher, and yes, I had the opportunity to chase one today! I believe it all started last weekend, when reports of LeConte's Thrasher came flooding in and my city-sickness were nudging me to get out of the house. I'd decided then and there that the next time I go birding, it shall be at the Thrasher Spot. All week, I'd anticipated this trip, because I've never actually revolved a birding trip around Thrashers, and, a LeConte's Thrasher is freaking epic! Originally, yesterday was the day to chase them, but, it would have been rushed a bit due to our schedule, so today was ideal. So, at around 9:35 A.M. today, we were off, on the hunt for the world's most elusive, shy, and fastest Thrasher of all: The Thrasher Lord, LeConte's Thrasher. Today I had 5 lifers in mind; Bendire's, Sage, and of course LeConte's Thrashers, Sagebrush and Bell's Sparrows. Before arriving at our destined location, I spotted a couple PRAIRIE FALCONS, a few PEREGRINE FALCONS, 2 NORTHERN HARRIERS, and a RED-TAILED HAWK, not bad of birds for the drive. Upon arriving, a lady asked if we were here for the Thrasher. Appearently, it's a no-brainer that new arrivals are after the LeConte's Thrasher. I new what she mean't by saying the Thrasher, after all, LeConte's Thrasher is usually the only important Thrasher in the area and what makes it such a renowned spot. She said that her daughter was on one side of the road, pointing that direction, and she told us she just received a text saying she'd found 2 thrashers. She then directed us to 2 guys who'd also found 2 thrashers. hmmm, which direction shall thy go? I decided, since I could see the guys from where we were, I would follow them. When we caught up, they said they just had 2 Crissal Thrashers, and were attempting photographs with huge lenses. Since Crissal was a non-lifer, and they hadn't had any luck, Dad and I moved on. The first bird I spotted ran all over the ground, and then fluttered into the top of a saltbush. To my delight, it was a SAGEBRUSH SPARROW, my first lifer for 2018! On the other side of Baseline and Salome intersection, White-crowned Sparrows sang and foraged EVERYWHERE around the wash. Many Sagebrush Sparrows and, a very likely BELL'S SPARROW were with them as well. Sometimes, Dad would stop to play the song of our main target, the LeConte's Thrasher, which by the way, has a very beautiful song! Eventually, Dad spotted a couple of birders scouting the arid landscape in separate directions. One of them, looked like he had eyes on something, so we followed him. Before catching up, a flash of gray-brown & white caught my eye. I knew, this was our target, even from a distance, just the pale coloration, slender physique, and long tail gave it the instantly recognizable appearance of the LECONTE'S THRASHER! Even without binoculars, they are a very distinctive and unique Thrasher. Once caught up, I'd asked if he'd viewed the bird I just saw pop out of nowhere and disappear back into the brush almost too fast to spot it. He told me he had, and that he's been observing a pair of them for a few minutes. Shortly there after, he pointed out the pair of distant thrashers to me. Even with my trusty binos on them, they were still mere silhouette s. Now that I'd located my lifer, it was time to take on a new and much more difficult challenge: Photograph a LeConte's Thrasher! In case you are all wondering- getting close to a LeConte's for a decent photo is next to impossible! From about 50 feet away, the birds frantically ran everywhere when they saw me approach. No matter what angle I came at them, they spotted me long before I thought they spotted me. I kept going for a head on approach, keeping low profile and quiet. Sometimes, I would lose them, and turn my attention away when a ton of Sagebrush Sparrows flushed. When quite sometime passed, I was getting frustrated, having to move slow and keep quiet for that long is really invigorating! However, my determination and drive and commitment to photographing the bird were screaming at me to not give up. The reason for such determination: Even though we saw the bird, it was an unsatisfying gray flash, and as you know, I hate putting "flash-lifers" on my list, because as I explained in a previous post, a flash lifer is a bird I get a small glimpse or flash of, making it a very unsatisfying observation. So, long story short, a LeConte's Thrasher can't go anywhere in a photo, so I wanted a photo to remember the bird by. Anyways, eventually, like a hungry wolf, I separated one thrasher from its mate, so now I could focus on just one bird. I followed him, and at times when I was a comfortable distance away (about 30 ft!) he would forage. That's when I grabbed Dad's camera to shoot, because when a thrasher runs, it's always away from you so, all I get is a long tail sticking up and chestnut undertail coverts. The bird's face is what I needed in my shots, so when he's foraging that's my best chance. Over time, he let me gradually get closer and closer, foot by foot, inch by inch, until I decided I was done taking pics of an awesome bird! In the end, I appearently got within 10 feet of the bird, according to Dad, and that may be the closest I will ever get to infamous and famous, Saltbush-Plains Ghost, Thrasher Lord, and LeConte's Thrasher!!! Dad and I high-fived, and made our way back to the car. We bumped into the guy who showed me the Thrashers, as we were making our way back, and we told him of my encounter with the epic lifer. It was getting late in the afternoon, so we didn't go after Bendire's or Sage Thrashers, but I will definitely have to go back to this awesome place again in a few weeks, when the Thrashers will be singing much more (they didn't sing at all this trip)! The last bird of the trip before its end was a soaring TURKEY VULTURE. Check out picks of LECONTE'S THRASHER and SAGEBRUSH SPARROW below! SAGEBRUSH SPARROW Animal Skeleton, Snake, Bird, or Lizard Saltbush country: excellent Thrasher habitat. Can you spot the Thrasher? The one and only LECONTE'S THRASHER! Not the greatest pics in the world, but these are excellent photographs considering the subjected species! Some serious effort was put into taking these photographs, the subject of photography here is a very uncooperative one, and requires a ton of patience, 2 tons of quiet, and 3 tons of slowness! Believe me when I say, this has to be THE MOST CHALLENGING bird I have EVER attempted to photograph! It was well worth the effort though! What an exciting place to bird, and a location that really gives you a sense that you're in the wild, where nature's in charge, not us. I really hope that unlike most locations in Arizona, this place is kept just the way it is, and that we act upon preservation for this beautiful location, so that the future generations of birders have this place to bird now and in days to come! I certainly can't wait to visit this fantastic birding location again! I'm Jared Conaway, and stay tuned for my next post!
Note: So far, only 2 people, both friends of mine, have voted. Picks were Northern Hawk Owl and Ross's Goose, and my vote goes to South Polar Skua. 3 votes won't do, I need a big list of votes so that only one bird will win. I need more votes, the deadline was on Friday, but I think 20 votes is a very reasonable deadline. Thanks. Also, be sure to check out Tommy Debardeleben's blog, his vote went to the NORTHERN HAWK OWL, thank you so much Tommy D for voting! Click the links below for his blog and his website. I also have Tommy D to thank for finding out about the "Thrasher Spot", from his amazing website that he put a lot of effort and time into, to provide detailed info on all the greatest Hotspots in the county! He gives details on parking fees, ownership, directions from Glendale, hiking difficulty, hotspot rating, target species and etc.! The least I can do to thank Tommy, is to give him more viewers for both sites, and you guys will enjoy his sites too. Tommy D's website: birderfrommaricopa.com Tommy D's blog: tommysbirdingexpeditions.blogspot.com Happy Birding n' Blogging everyone!
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December 2019
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