A good point about sagebrush birds sometimes being taken for granted (and I agree that ‘our’ thrashers are quite cool).  When I first moved out west and worked in sagebrush environments, I thought there were so many Brewer’s Sparrows and Sage Thrashers that there could never be any reason for concern over their populations.  Truth is, they are really common in high-quality habitat but we’ve lost so much habitat to fire and various other forms of habitat loss/degradation that, along with sage-grouse, both species are actually considered “at risk” by most agencies with management responsibility for them (i.e., BLM, US Fish & Wildlife, and many state agencies like Idaho Fish & Game).  Thus, even more reason to appreciate these desert songsters!

Excellent captures Alex. Great poses.
I agree with Larry; we often take our local, and even commoner birds, for granted.

These are beautiful photos of the Sage Thrasher among those little yellow flowers!  He’ s a beautiful little bird!

Thank you.  I grew up in Idaho but never bird watched until I left.  That one is on my list to see!