Still Chasing

Yeah, it wasn't that long ago that I was at Van Wagner's Beach for a Townsand's Solitaire, but I wasn't able to get a photo of it, and this year is dedicated to getting, within reason, photos of birds I didn't capture on digital film in 2012.  So, yesterday, when word of a Townsand's Solitaire surfaced in my e-mail, just an hour or so from home, I was up for the chase.

This morning I drove out to Clarington and found about 4 birders already present, including David whom I have run into on multiple occasions in the past 12 months, mostly at Colonel Sam or James Gardens.  He had already seen the bird and it came out and perched on a branch shortly after I started looking.  It didn't stay long and moved to another tree and then vanished before I could get even one out of focus shot.

Some birders left, more arrived, including Benito, a retried gentleman I ran into at least 4 times last year.  Forty-five minutes had passed and Benito and I were exchanging e-mail addresses when someone spotted the bird just up the road.  We all congregated along the road where we could see the bird in a tree about 20 feet up and away from where we all were.  A few of us got our cameras out and, though the bird was in the shade were able to get some decent photos of it.

It was fun to be back out in the field, going after, what is a rare bird for these parts.  I never did get far enough north in Arizona, or inland enough in California or British Columbia to see it in its native habitat. Yet, I have seen one twice in less than 6 months in Ontario.  Go figure.