This was an exciting, very rare bird for Wisconsin! A Sage Thrasher has been being seen only a few times a day at a private residence for about a week. I struggled to get up to see this bird sooner with no results. This bird’s normal range is Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico and west of these states, so it is way off course. I got to the stakeout at 7:30 AM, watched from the car for a while as I had excellent views of the yard and where it had been seen. Quite a few birders showed up as time went on. About 9:40 the bird was spotted coming out of some Yew plants alongside the home and into a thick hedge about 20 feet away. The bird remained silent and no moving around in the hedge for about 15 minutes plus. Then all of the sudden the bird flew up into a couple of short trees in the hedge and gave excellent views for all present. The bird moved around some in front of us for a couple of minutes but then went back into hiding it seemed. My opinion is that the bird spends it’s nights and off times at the basement outside wall as there might be some heat coming off of the concrete there as that appears where it came from when first seen today. It does come out on occasion and then it is seen. I did try for the bird 2 days earlier for 5 hours with no luck. What a birding moment!! A BIG THANK YOU goes out to the homeowner for being so kind and letting birders come visit to see the rare visitor on their property. UPDATE 12/1/24, visiting now only from the roadside. It was a cold day, mostly cloudy, some wind at 25 degrees. Wisconsin Life Bird #381. Images were taken on December 1, 2024.
The Sage Thrasher giving nice looks here…
The bird blends in so well, at some times I could not see it…
When the bird first came out in the open…
Where the Sage Thrasher flew to when it came out of the Yew bush. 15 minutes in here before seeing the bird fly up to a branch on a small tree. The bird was impossible to see in there. I think this habitat is similar to Sage Brush habitat what Sage Thrashers like??… maybe one reason it might be hanging around.
It went to the ground twice…blends in well, it moved around quickly in most cases…
Many times it was in behind branches, etc, moving from one spot to another…
Giving nice looks here, so exciting…
Looking around to move…
The Sage Thrasher before it went back into hiding…
