This male Eastern Towhee showed up a few weeks early last spring. I’m assuming that it is the same male that shows up super early in our yard every year, but who really knows. Maybe its the place to be in Mid-March? Its not often that you get Eastern Towhee on the same day as Common Redpolls! Last year we had a really late snowfall, which the Towhee really seemed to resent. He wasn’t the only one, I was certainly ready for the warm weather to show up!
On the positive side, bad weather can occasionally make for great photos. I’ve seen countless eastern towhees over the years, but my favorite memory of watching one was at Great Swamp in New Jersey. It started raining while Liesl and I were out birding. We came upon one sitting very close in a tree enjoying a good soak, fluffing up as the shower came down. He seemed to be sending the message that rain really isn’t a bad thing after all. Hey, don’t let it ruin your day… just make the most of it. The overcast lighting really make the subtle colors on that bird pop.
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