You don't have to look any further than your own yard!
About ten years ago when we lived in the Bent Tree house, I had a one legged Curve-billed Thrasher friend. How we became friends I have no idea, but we did! I would put bird seed in the feeders and my friend would be there watching me and waiting for food. I called my friend "Gimper", (not politically correct) and it stuck! It was amazing to go outside and have this bird show up and squawk at me! I would repeatedly say, "Hi, Gimper" and he would respond with his bird call. This went on for about 4 years and after we moved I missed my friend a lot!
The Thrasher is a no-nonsense personable bird who strides on its strong legs or runs in spurts and often becomes quite tame. It is grayish brown on the back and the wings, buff on the breast and belly with a long, strong, down-curved bill, orange eyes and mottled undersides. The Thrasher typifies desert nearly as much as the Roadrunner. The Thrasher lives among the cholla and prickly pear, mesquite and creosote-- it digs into the ground for insects, seeds and berries but it can be found on backyard feeders! The Thrasher is a cousin to the Mockingbird so there should be no surprise when a sweet series of warbles and melodies come from him/her perched atop a cholla!
Over the weekend I was lucky to find a Curved-billed Thrasher's nest in one of the Staghorn Cholla in our yard. A decoy and the real nest!
And an EGG--will there be more eggs? Yes!
(Copyright 2012)
About ten years ago when we lived in the Bent Tree house, I had a one legged Curve-billed Thrasher friend. How we became friends I have no idea, but we did! I would put bird seed in the feeders and my friend would be there watching me and waiting for food. I called my friend "Gimper", (not politically correct) and it stuck! It was amazing to go outside and have this bird show up and squawk at me! I would repeatedly say, "Hi, Gimper" and he would respond with his bird call. This went on for about 4 years and after we moved I missed my friend a lot!
The Thrasher is a no-nonsense personable bird who strides on its strong legs or runs in spurts and often becomes quite tame. It is grayish brown on the back and the wings, buff on the breast and belly with a long, strong, down-curved bill, orange eyes and mottled undersides. The Thrasher typifies desert nearly as much as the Roadrunner. The Thrasher lives among the cholla and prickly pear, mesquite and creosote-- it digs into the ground for insects, seeds and berries but it can be found on backyard feeders! The Thrasher is a cousin to the Mockingbird so there should be no surprise when a sweet series of warbles and melodies come from him/her perched atop a cholla!
(Copyright 2012)
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