A Disagreement of Sorts

Disagreements are a reality of life. Immature people always want to win an argument, even at the cost of a relationship. Mature people understand that it's always better to lose an argument and win a relationship.

"If you were right, I'd agree with you".
~

If by "Let's agree to disagree", you really mean "Let's each continue to think the other person
is an idiot", then yeah, sure.

"Rather than us agreeing to disagree, why don't you just be quiet?"
~

Don't you agree?  :)

Have a great Friday and wonderful weekend!

Brown Thrashers

A few shots of the Brown Thrashers that visit my back yard...

Brown Thrasher Couple

A pair of Brown Thrashers have made themselves at home nearby.  Every day the couple is seen foraging through the grassy back yard, at the forest edge or on the loose piles of brush currently stacked in our yard.  

They visit the bird feeders as well.  There they make a mess, 

thrashing through the seeds and spilling some of them out onto the ground below.  

The thrashers stop in often at the bird baths to quench their thirst...

They're fun to watch, particularly when they run across the yard- even from a distance I can positively identify them just by their rapid forward gait.  

I wish I had their speed sometimes- I could get things done much sooner!

I hope you all have a great weekend.  My kid brother is in town this week and I happen to be off work, so I plan to spend time with him and my other siblings.  What fun!

Brown Thrasher Family

These young thrashers appeared out of the tall brush for the first time three days ago.  I suspected a nest was somewhere behind the grassy fence line because their parents were frequently seen there.  I observed the young ones for a little while as they investigated the wide open space on my side of the fence.  They initially proceeded with caution, staying close to the brush and each other.  When they became more comfortable, they intermittently walked and hopped along several feet near the fence line, pecking at the ground. Obviously their "thrashing" skills will develop as the young birds mature.  

I contemplated the appearance of the young thrashers in the same area yesterday. They didn't show. However, they surprised me a little later when they made an appearance in the tree near my front porch. They had followed a parent to the bird feeder.  Soon one of them made clumsy attempts to follow the parents lead.  I saw the family again yesterday evening- this time they were under the huge azalea tree on the opposite side of the yard.  

Brown Thrashers are interesting to watch- the adults dart quickly around the shrubby areas in the yard, thrashing heartily through piles of old leaves and tossing them aside.  Most often the best images I can capture of them are at the feeders because they're so fast and elusive.  Some of the features I find most attractive in the adult brown thrasher are the bright yellow eyes and heavy dark brown streaks on the chest.  

I'll post more photos of this thrasher family in a few weeks.  

Thank you for visiting!  

Linked with Stewart at Wild Bird Wednesday

Brown Thrashers: Hide & Seek

In February, I spotted this bird as it perched upon winter branches near the huge Azalea tree.  I didn't know what species of bird it was so I had to do some research.  He (or She) is a Brown Thrasher, the only Thrasher bird species located east of Texas.  

I didn't see anymore Brown Thrashers until a couple weeks ago.  A pair of them were foraging through weeds and brush near the forest line.  Males and females are similar in appearance so I'm uncertain as to which one is which.  Since this is a pair, they're probably together for breeding season and they'll nest in the brush along the edge of the woods.  

Brown Thrashers spend most of their time near or on the ground, walking, running, or hopping. When disturbed at the nest, they drop to the ground and dart into dense cover. They feed by sweeping their long bills through leaf litter to uncover insects and other invertebrates. They are slow, short-distance fliers with a distinctive jerky, fluttering flight style. Brown Thrashers are monogamous during a breeding season, but it isn’t known whether pairs stay together from year to year. They breed in such dense vegetation that little is known of their courtship; the few observations that exist suggest that a courting pair presents each other with twigs or dead leaves, after which the male may briefly chase the female before mating. They defend territories of variable size, and they are very aggressive toward intruding Brown Thrashers and toward potential nest predators, which include snakes (racers as well as garter, king, rat, bull, and milk snakes) and dogs. Sometimes Brown Thrashers strike predators with their bills hard enough to draw blood.

I found it interesting that Brown Thrashers are accomplished songsters that may sing more than 1,100 different song types and include imitations of other birds, including Chuck-will’s-widows, Wood Thrushes, and Northern Flickers.  

Sweet music- reminds me of the Mockingbird songs...