Last night's photo walk with Daniel and Annette left me with several photo candidates for posting, for various themes/challenges and just because I like them. So, I'm giving myself permission to draw on them to post this week if: (a) I stay committed and take a photo a day [I did that today but like the photos from last night better] and (b) I do some editing of some kind to improve the shot (on this one, I did added a polarizing filter in post processing). With the chapter to finish and a move to get ready for on Sunday, I'm hoping that will save enough time for me to stay current on comments. Choices...
Background on this bird, from a non-birder: We were on museum campus at dusk, near the Shedd Acqarium. There were many birds that were brown, black, white (seagulls, which I can recognize!), speckled, solid, etc. This little one sat cooperatively on this branch but kept popping its head behind the one you can see above and to the right. It was almost teasing me to get a clearer angle.
Final entry for my get-pushed challenge.
Excellent capture! I almost said it was a Brown Thrasher, but you probably are not in my are where we have these, and his head doesn't look like one. Really pretty pic!
@mej2011 I just saw Caz's shot on the PP (@cazann http://365project.org/cazann/365/2013-05-18 and wonder if it might be a "brown thrasher"? Her photo shows a brownish bird with speckles on its chest. The head looks a little similar to this one.
@taffy
That was my thought as well. But, I've never seen a baby Thrasher so I'm not sure. The eye and beak are throwing me off. In adults, there is yellow around the eye and the beak is much longer. Sorry I'm of no help.
This is a gorgeous capture! How big approx is the bird? Doesn't look like one I am familiar with in the area I live. It can be hard sometimes to differentiate the different femaie birds.
I really know very little about birds (so I'm loving your title) but could it be a song thrush? Whatever it is it's very striking and looks beautiful in it's surroundings, great capture.
@sailingmusic@foxsparrow What fun to learn the name! I didn't intend for it to be a mystery to our 365 birder community, but it was fun to see the responses. Thanks for identifying.
@steampowered Thanks Paul! I'm working on sharpening my skills for the move to Michigan where wildlife rather than architecture reign. And unlike buildings, those creatures don't stand still for me to get everything set!
I would never have guessed a female Red Wing! Since you kept saying little, I was going to say it was some kind of sparrow. I hadn't looked through my books yet so I'm glad to see that someone with more expertise recognized it right away. When are you moving to Michigan and where in Michigan? What is the reason for your move? Sorry I'm being nosy!! My son lives in Tecumseh!
@olivetreeann Thanks for the kind comment! And you raise an interesting question -- how little is little? Bigger than a sparrow, smaller than a crow? I would never have figured it out and it is fun to have learned what it was!
We spend summers in Michigan, starting from when we lived there at taught at Michigan State, so this is our 22nd summer there. An island in Lake Michigan called Beaver Island ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_Island_(Lake_Michigan). I've been thinking it will be fun to switch gears and introduce the island to 365. It's the total opposite of Chicago!
Little brown, striped, speckled birds are the hardest to identify. We call them "LBB's" - little brown birds when we don't know who they are. Great capture - crystal clear. You should be all set for island photography!
That was my thought as well. But, I've never seen a baby Thrasher so I'm not sure. The eye and beak are throwing me off. In adults, there is yellow around the eye and the beak is much longer. Sorry I'm of no help.
We spend summers in Michigan, starting from when we lived there at taught at Michigan State, so this is our 22nd summer there. An island in Lake Michigan called Beaver Island ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_Island_(Lake_Michigan). I've been thinking it will be fun to switch gears and introduce the island to 365. It's the total opposite of Chicago!
Thanks Alan and BP! I appreciate the kind comments.