Brown Thrasher

This is one of the first birds I was able to ID from a glimpse. Bright copper colour and a flash of long tail and even at 100 kmh I know it is a Brown Thrasher. When I took these photos, the Thrasher was in a tree on our farm.

It took me quite a bit longer to recognize its call. I posted its song last year here. 

Mystery Singers

Two birds that have stumped me.

 I assume this is a sparrow, though I never see it, at least not while it is singing. It is in the grass across the road from the field of saskatoons. Whatever this bird is, there are several that sing almost constantly throughout the day.

 

Thanks to the knowledgeable guys at the SaskBirds group, this bird has now been identified as a Sprague's Pipit. They sing from the air, not the grass, though to me this really sounded like the grass, but given I was across the road, perhaps the direction of sound was deceptive.

This next bird, on the other hand, was right in the berries. I thought it was a Clay-coloured until it started to sing, and then I had no idea. However, Stan Shadick said it is a Clay-coloured Sparrow, just with a different song. Highly interesting. I always have this idea that birds don't have many options on how they sing, but every now and then, apparently one does.

This is a sparrow I took when the camera was accidentally set to take a smaller resolution photo. I think it is a Baird's, which would make it a new bird for me. However, here again I have been corrected. It appears it is a Vesper Sparrow, which is a disappointment as I have a much better photo of a Vesper on my Seeing Yellow post a few days ago.

June birds

Given it is the middle of July, it seems time to post some of my favourite bird shots from June.

 Lesser Scaups on slough east of Lucky Lake

 Marbled Godwit on same slough as above

 Tree Swallow at Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park

Eared Grebe with young, on Luck Lake

 

Purple Finch, female. At our feeder.

Willet on slough east of Lucky Lake

 Red-winged Blackbird by slough east of Demaine.

American Coot in a slough near our farm

 Yellow-headed Blackbird on Francis Lake near Herbert

And lastly, a hawk I assume is the Swainson's, but given my track record at identifying hawks, it could as easily be something else. North and east of Swift Current.

Seeing yellow

Yesterday I found myself in the middle of a field of canola.

The only bird I heard or saw there was a Clay-coloured Sparrow hidden in the canola. Below is a Vesper Sparrow that was sitting on a fence post when I stopped to take the fourth yellow photo.