Eastern Towhee

[Ed O'Connor]

We're getting to the tag end of fall migration, but one interesting aspect is the mixed flocks of sparrows still passing through. On the Leslie Street Spit this morning, I found a flock that contained White-throated, White-crowned, Song, Swamp, and this handsome female Eastern Towhee, who dwarfed and outshone everyone else.
Eastern Towhee by Edward O'Connor, on Flickr

[Shortsighted]

Nice find. Haven't seen a Towhee since spring and even then I could only get close
to the female. I used a tiny section of it for Ally's mystery bird ID and she
got it right away. That colour scheme is definitive.

[Ed O'Connor]

Thanks, Shortsighted, I'm glad you enjoyed.

[Shortsighted]

I don't suppose you managed to get a shot of those different species of sparrows
feeding together before heading their separate way. You know, the last supper
as it were. I guess the depth of field needed to achieve that group shot would
be a bit difficult. No WT or WC sparrows have appeared in the yard yet, but
the number a Junco is increasing. There is a splendidly-coloured female among
them, very soft pastel earth tones. Maybe I'll get a shot of it sometime.

In the spring, the male Towhees were very timid. The slightest movement on
my part and they would relocate. I only managed to get a shot of the female because
I observed it for a while and it kept returning to the same spot after being chased
away by dogs. So, I was thinking ... and that's where it gets interesting because
thinking is not my forte ... why not plant myself while the towhee was in retreat
and then remain manikin-like upon its return. Plan was executed. Results achieved.
The Towhee was completely unaware of the ruse and probably couldn't have cared.
I did injure my shoulder though while trying to pat myself on the back.

[Ed O'Connor]

I have some poor photos of a White-crowned and a Swamp Sparrow, but nothing of the flock as a whole. The birds were feeding in the underbrush, and when I pished, one or two at a time would pop up in response. One surpise was a Winter Wren, who popped up quite close to where I was standing. In fact, so close that the camera wouldn't focus until it retreated a bit. Here's one shot I managed to get of this very bold bird.
Winter Wren by Edward O'Connor, on Flickr

[Shortsighted]

Ya, that's happened to me too and with my small lens I imagine that I have a much closer minimum focus than you do.
Sometimes I almost feel it would be useful to have a thin extension tube to insert when something really close pops up,
assuming I could install the tube in a timely fashion. I'm often shooting wide open because without IS I need a very fast
shutter speed and I don't want to crank-up the ISO, even though when a subject is that close the ISO noise is not really
an issue. When something like a wren suddenly appears right in front of me at close range then a wide open iris doesn't offer
enough depth-of-field. It's never easy but it is still a bit of rush when it happens. Thanks for posting the shot. I remember
just a few years ago when I was desperate for a shot of a winter wren but fingered I would never get close enough to make
it happen.