Nothing like a dirt bath in the heat... Best viewed large if you will. by marlboromaam

Nothing like a dirt bath in the heat... Best viewed large if you will.

Maybe one of you "birders" will help me identify this bird. I'm thinking it's more than likely a female. Larger than a sparrow or wren - about the size of a robin or blue jay. I walked out the back door the other day and there she was. I knew chickens took dirt baths, but never saw a bird do it! She stayed there, about 15 feet from me, just long enough for me to get two shots. It's a bit over exposed, I had to hurry! No time for the best settings. Still, it's the best bird shot I've done thus far! @coastandcactus Cissy, can you tell me what it is?
Cute little guy
July 4th, 2012  
very beautiful Marlboromaam . Gerry.
July 4th, 2012  
@kerristephens Thank you, Kerri!

@gerry Thank you, Gerry!
July 4th, 2012  
Could this be a wood thrush? Beautiful shot.
July 4th, 2012  
My eyes read "dirt bath" and my mind translated it to "dirt nap". I thought the poor thing had died from the heat. I didn't see its eye or beak until I looked at it in large scale. Great capture, especially considering how you had to do it quickly on the fly. Hope someone can help identify it.
July 4th, 2012  
Beautiful shot!
July 4th, 2012  
@daisy I don't think a wood thrush has a "do" like that. Thank you for your comments, Kathryn! Most appreciated!

@beteljooz LOL! Thank you, George! I really appreciate your comments and support!

@rhos Thank you, Ann!
July 4th, 2012  
Nice shot, Deadeye! :-)
July 4th, 2012  
I wish I knew what it is. Good capture! I have seen sparrows do the dirt bath and it is quite amusing to watch.
July 4th, 2012  
she seems happy anyway!
July 4th, 2012  
Perfect focus, love the detail...she seems to be enjoying herself.
July 4th, 2012  
Typical of a bird when its hot....wings spread and beak open. Our blackbirds do it and our sparrows dust bath. I don't know your birds, I'm sure someone will come forward. A great opportunist shot.
July 4th, 2012  
Nice capture. Not a wood thrush, they don't have wing bars. Possibly a flycatcher of some kind or an eastern Phoebe. If it's a bit overexposed, not sure what colour brown it truly is.
July 4th, 2012  
Great capture! I've seen them taking dirt baths a lot here!
July 4th, 2012  
Did you get to see what color feathers were on it's tummy? The brown crested flycatcher has a yellow tummy. Here is a link: http://www.greglasley.net/browncrfc.html
July 4th, 2012  
Fantastic capture. Love his little beak. I hope someone can help you figure out what it is.
July 4th, 2012  
awwwwwwwwwwwwww shot, good timing too
July 4th, 2012  
Yeah, but you got it in sharp focus! Hard to do with all those sticks. Great shot!
July 4th, 2012  
I agree with Linda, I think it's a brown-crested flycatcher from what I can see. I think I stick to cool wet showers to fight the heat (:
July 4th, 2012  
@cromwell Thank you, Cromwell!

@grannysue Thank you so much, Linda! It is not a bird that is common around here.

@alicardwell Thank you, ma'am!

@ruthmouch Thank you, Ruth! For the first time, it was closer and not so danged grainy!

@Cherrill Thank you, Cherrill! Appreciate your comments!

@Cherrill You might be right, Lynn! It is not the common every day variety I see around here all the time.

@geertje Thank you, Geertje!

@grannysue You may have nailed it, Linda! I will take a closer look! But, no - I didn't get a look at its chest, unfortunately!

@yonnie Me, too! Thank you very much, Yvonne!
July 4th, 2012  
@debsulzberger LOL! Thank you, Deb! Appreciate that!

@danette You made my day! Thank you, Danette!

@skipt07 Going to take a closer look, Skip! Will let you all know. Cool wet showers work or just stay inside with the AC on!
July 4th, 2012  
How do you get a shot like this. He/she is definitely in camouflage
July 4th, 2012  
A beautiful bird... Great find, he looks camouflaged
July 4th, 2012  
It could be a mockingbird but it's hard to tell in that position and with the camouflage background. Fab catch! I've seen them do that in the past and it's so interesting to watch.
July 4th, 2012  
Great shot!
July 4th, 2012  
She's beautiful ... what a great capture. That golden color is gorgeous, but I don't know what she is ...wonderful textures. Glad that you got to get a shot. We are under a heat alert here ... extremely hot and humid.
July 4th, 2012  
Great timing and beautiful capture.
July 4th, 2012  
@papalima The bird was there, I just grabbed the camera and did what I could on the settings already there. Thanks for stopping by, Pattie.

@sugarmuser Thank you, Sharon! Yep, it does blend in with the pine needles, dirt and leaf clutter.

@cimes1 I've never seen a mockingbird with a "do" like that, Carole. I know mockingbird's very well. It is a flycatcher. Maybe brown-crested or maybe great-crested. Thank you for your comments and visit! Always appreciated!

@paulavdmerwe Thank you, Paula!
July 4th, 2012  
What a cute bird, Maggie and a great shot.
July 4th, 2012  
@karenann Thank you, Karen! It's definitely a kind of flycatcher. Just not sure which one. Stay cool, gal! No need to go outside unless you have to. I have to take Jack out about every 3 hours and that's all I can stand.

@dishaparekh176 Thank you so much, Disha!
July 4th, 2012  
@darsphotos Thank you so much, Darlene! xo
July 4th, 2012  
Well done! That's great, that you were able to grab the opportunity and achieved such a great focus! other setting can be tweaked later on a bit, right?!
July 5th, 2012  
Great capture! One first glance it seemed to have blended in with the surroundings.
July 5th, 2012  
@sassik Really appreciate your comments! Thank you, Sassik!

@marieooi It's coloring really blends in with the pine needles, dirt and leaf clutter, but I couldn't ask it to move over to better surroundings for a pic. LOL! Thank you for the comments and visit, Marie! Most appreciated!
July 5th, 2012  
Another great capture, very cute bird!
July 5th, 2012  
Wonderful capture. He/she blends in so well. Great job.
July 5th, 2012  
@sanfil Thank you very much, Sandra!

@copperheadglass Thank you for your comments, Meredith! Appreciate your visit!
July 5th, 2012  
He certainly blends in quite nicely! Great shot!
July 5th, 2012  
Great find! Looks like he has something to say! Happy July 4th!!!
July 5th, 2012  
It's beautifully camouflaged, wonderful shot
July 5th, 2012  
The enlarged version has lovely detail, great find and lucky shot!
July 5th, 2012  
what a great catch, love the way the light is illuminating him...
July 5th, 2012  
Great shot! Nice camouflage
July 5th, 2012  
Well spotted, that's a great shot! She certainly is a cute one! 8)
July 5th, 2012  
@marlboromaam I agree about the mockingbird....just hard to see the details with the camouflage. Hope you're able to catch it again alone & maybe I could ID it.
July 5th, 2012  
Amazing find and capture. He is quite camouflaged there.
July 5th, 2012  
perfect focus, well done !
July 5th, 2012  
It looks like a sparrow to me but I don't think its a sparrow. Wonderful shot of this cute bird Maggie :D
July 5th, 2012  
Great shot! So perfectly camouflaged!
July 5th, 2012  
Certainly seems to be enjoying her dirt bath! Lovely!
July 5th, 2012  
@groovygirlrn Thank you for your comments, Sheri! Most appreciated!

@wannabe Thank you so much, Catherine! Hope you had a great 4th!

@wenbow Thank you very much, Wendy! Grateful for your comments!

@aleksandra I love your comments! Thank you very much, Aleksandra!

@paulineb Thank you for your lovely comments, Pauline!

@paulien Thank you so much, Paulien!

@myautofocuslife Thank you, Livia! Always appreciate your comments and visit!

@cimes1 Thank you, Carole! It is definitely a flycatcher. Just not sure if it's brown-crested or great-crested. Would have to see it's belly.

@sangwann Thank you for your lovely comments, Dione! Most appreciated!

@cocobella Thank you so much, Corinne!

@princesicita It's a flycatcher, Princess! Thank you for your lovely comments! Most appreciated!
July 5th, 2012  
I also thought he was dead, I didn't see his head & eyes until I viewed large.
After viewing large he is really a cute little guy. This is one of those hidden picture type photos
July 5th, 2012  
@lindag Thank you, Linda!

@swguevin Thank you, Sheila!

@myhrhelper Appreciate your kind comments, Kathy! Thank you for your comments!
July 5th, 2012  
awe, she looks so happy singing away!! what a cutie!! excellent capture maggie!
July 5th, 2012  
Lovely shot great timing : )
July 5th, 2012  
@kdimagery Thank you so much, Kd! Really appreciate your comments!

@simon0128 Thank you, Simon!
July 5th, 2012  
great image, great camouflage, you did a good job brava!!
July 5th, 2012  
brilliant maggie, don't you just love mother nature :)
July 5th, 2012  
Cool shot Mags.
July 5th, 2012  
@tobi Thank you very much, Santina!
July 5th, 2012  
@phil_howcroft Thank you, Phil and yes, I do!

@ronphotos365 Thank you, Ron!
July 5th, 2012  
SO it's a flycatcher! Glad you got it ID. She looks exhausted!
July 5th, 2012  
eva
So beautiful! Absolutely gorgeous little bird.
July 5th, 2012  
@janturnbull I can imagine she was very hot! Thank you, Janet!

@redrucksack Thank you, Eva! Really appreciate your visit!
July 5th, 2012  
it is always amazing to me when I see the birds trying to cool off like that...
July 6th, 2012  
@vickisfotos I've only seen chickens take bird baths until this! Funny creatures! Thanks for stopping by, Vicki!
July 6th, 2012  
Cute!! Great capture :)
July 6th, 2012  
@gabsview Thank you, Gabrielle!
July 6th, 2012  
What a beautiful bird! it really blends in with it's surroundings!
July 6th, 2012  
Lovely, she looks like she was singing =)
July 6th, 2012  
@orangecrush Thank you so much, Jerry! Appreciate your kind comments!

@mantha Thank you, Sam! I think she was more like panting from the heat here.
July 6th, 2012  
well captured!!
July 6th, 2012  
@smithak Thank you, Smitha!
July 6th, 2012  
Kim
Wonderful capture.....I haven't ever seen birds do this either!
July 7th, 2012  
@kdei Thank you, Kim! Odd isn't it!
July 7th, 2012  
She looks like she took a brief moment to pose for you :)
July 7th, 2012  
Cute she would be hard to see great catch
July 9th, 2012  
@herussell It was just a brief moment, Hope! Thank you for stopping by!

@photos222 Thank you, Sybil! Her movement caught my eye!
July 9th, 2012  
Well captured :)
July 9th, 2012  
@zela Thank you very much, Alena!
July 9th, 2012  
Deb
Nice shot! I'm surprised she didn't fly away.
July 9th, 2012  
@deburahiru Thank you, Deb! Me, too!
July 9th, 2012  
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