The day in June that we chose for our visit to the Carden Alvar, in Ontario, Canada, was a steamy one. Our first stop was at Cameron Ranch, where friends had photographed beautiful expanses of Indian Paintbrush wildflowers only a couple of days earlier. The flowers were past their prime, but we came face-to-face with this brown thrasher as it sat on a fence post with freshly caught insects.
We had been wandering across the meadow knee-deep in myriad wildflowers that captured our interest when this brown thrasher flew by and landed not more than 4 feet in front of us.
The Brown Thrasher moved along the fence from wire to post, and when it did not offer to leave the area, we realized that it must have a nest very nearby.
Like the diligent adult that it was, the Brown Thrasher refused to go anywhere near the nest.
We did not want to harass the brown thrasher nor interfere with its parental duties, so we backed away slowly. The brown thrasher flew to the ground at the base of a woody shrub, foraged for more insects, and then flew onto a low branch. Nest located, but we did not go in for a look. We left the brown thrasher to the task of caring for its young, knowing that it would have to make endless trips back and forth to keep them nourished.
Despite the high humidity and relentless sunshine, Bob and I spent eight hours at the Carden Alvar and saw no less than 18 Brown Thrashers, including this one singing up a storm at the top of a tree.
Frame To Frame – Bob and Jean