ML613709752

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

*wonderful! My long-awaited lifer, the last northeastern breeder I’d never seen. First individual detected by electric "zeeew" notes before Cascade/Porter trail fork, later singing but never showing itself. Second bird seen carrying food below Porter overlook rock. Two more birds along Porter trail, one singing and one calling. Last two birds atop Cascade peak: one singing beautifully atop an elfin fir along the northwest side of the alpine section, the second invisible, singing from within a dense brush along the southeast side. Bicknell's Thrushes present seemed more reluctant to vocalize than sympatric Swainson's, with a weaker song that did not carry as far as the bubbly SWTH. The song itself was something like a Veery fed through a synth wave, a staccato series of wiry notes descending and then 'skidding' at the end. Calls, while reminiscent of the familiar Veery, were notably more electric and metallic, almost approaching a distant nighthawk. The experience of encountering these birds, in stunning high-elevation boreal and krummholz habitat after a tough hike, was a magical one.

Technical information

Model

NIKON D7200

Lens

200.0-500.0 mm f/5.6

ISO

800

Focal length

500 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/5000 sec

Dimensions

2311 pixels x 1541 pixels

Original file size

818.11 KB