Monday, March 16, 2015

Wild Birds: Eastern Towhee

                                 
To quote the Cornell Lab,"The Eastern Towhee is a strikingly marked, oversized sparrow of the East, feathered in bold black and warm reddish-browns – if  you can get a clear look at it. Eastern Towhees are birds of the undergrowth, where their rummaging makes far more noise than you would expect for their size. Their chewink calls let you know how common they are, but many of your sightings end up mere glimpses through tangles of little stems."
For the better part of a year that is exactly how I saw this bird. It would feed on the ground under a feeder that had a bush beside of it. I would try to take a photo looking through my window and down at the ground. Rarely it would sit on a nearby wisteria branch too far away for a very good photo. Last March was my first encounter with the Towhee. I had been feeding the birds for seven years and hadn't seen one until then.  I watched one come and go and again it stayed pretty much in the undergrowth. I think I got one good photo last March.
These past few weeks I caught glimpses again of this pretty little bird. That was until the twelve plus inches of snow a couple of weeks ago. With the ground covered there was nothing for it to do except follow the cardinals and blue jays and fly up to the feeder and deck rails. AND, I was able to count four together at one time. Since the snow is gone now and the temperature has risen (70 degrees on Monday) I haven't seen any but it is nice to know they are around. I enjoyed their company and know I'll see them again.

Linking to Wild Birds with Stewart

20 comments:

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Wonderful little birds - great photos.

Mersad said...

Cute bird. I think it's also tired from all the snow. :)

Mersad
Mersad Donko Photography

Unknown said...

Beautiful captures of this very pretty bird.

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

it is a very pretty little bird Carletta. Great shots and Happy St Patrick’s Day.

Breathtaking said...

Hello Carletta!:) I'm glad you were able to get a few shots of this lovely shy bird. It must have been really hungry to go to your feeder. Lucky that he did, so now we can admire him.
Best Regards.

TexWisGirl said...

FABULOUS shots!! gorgeous! congratulations! i'd love to see one of these birds!

Anonymous said...

GREAT job capturing this shy one!!!

Red said...

Great photo of the towhee and a lot of patience and persistence to get it.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Perfect portraits of this beautiful and elusive bird. I see his western cousin occasionally when we're in Oregon. Keep meaning to read up on what the difference is.

I'm glad your weather is warming up.

Adam Jones said...

Such a colourful little bird, and the snow just adds to the picture. Very nice.

A Colorful World said...

Amazing photos! So happy for your recent encounters!

Ela said...

Such a lovely little bird !
Nice to see a new bird !
Greetings

Rose said...

Wonderful images, Carletta! I have not seen any here, but have seen them before. At least that snow was good for this!

theconstantwalker said...

Wonderful images of your lovely birds..

Anonymous said...

Handsome fellow! Great shots, too! My daughter saw her first one recently.

Phil Slade said...

"Strikingly marked" indeed. Those are great pictures Carletta. Such a colourful bird, and you captured the eye beautifully.

EG CameraGirl said...

I LOVE these pretty birds and have never, NEVER gotten a good photo of one.

forgetmenot said...

Fabulous shots of that lovely robin-Spring must be near. Mickie

Millie and Walter said...

Your pictures of this elusive bird are beautiful!

Cindy

Stewart M said...

What a cracking bird - so many of your birds look wonderful in the snow!

Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne