Thrashers are a rare treat in some places. My area used to be lousy with them, but now I only see them rarely. They like human structures, I would find them in my old house, nesting in chimneys, etc. Nice bird.

From the photo of the thrasher by claire, I guess the thrashers we have here in New Mexico are a different variety; ours here have a dusty brown body-no stripes, darker back & wings, but has the very distinctive orange ring in the eyes! These that began with just one pair a few years ago that foraged on the ground under our trees, now we have a couple dozen or more in our yard/area & have become very fearless around other birds as well as our four dogs! I can get right up to their nests & 'talk' to them & they show no fear of me (or the squirrel!) at all. Haven't figured out yet why the seemingly first pair built the 2-story apt. in the tree cactus!! Sure is a secure place to nest I admit! We often get a new variety of birds for awhile, then they disappear only to have another variety come; the thrashers seem to have replaced the grackles pretty much the past two years in my yard.... yet the mourning doves seem here to stay!

Speaking of thrushes and thrashers, I thought I might share with you'all pics of a applique/quilted wall hanging I made. It's called "Forest Fragmentation" with a Wood Thrush and her nest. The nest is made of tangled leftover embroidery threads. One of her eggs has been taken by a female Brown-Headed Cowbird, who replaced it with her own spotted egg. (Forest fragmentation makes our deep-woods nesters more open to threats from cowbirds, and the Wood Thrush is often considered the "poster-child" of our declining migratory birds.) One of these days I will have to post pics of my bluebird quilts too. BlueBars

Thanks! It just pleased me to see a bird that's usually very secretive suddenly come forward and enjoy itself in front of the camera. The sand and stones was an afterthought - I live in New England and it's always a pain to get a pole into the ground in between the subsurface rocks. Being on the coast, I have plenty of sand and stones. It's pouring rain now, and it must be hard for the hummers to get nectar from flowers or find insects. They're fighting over the feeder which has an umbrella over it so it's reasonably dry. Sort of like sitting on the porch with a drink watching the rain. Claire