234-006-varied-thrush-2020-07-05-damon-s-calderwood-maple-ridge-bc-canada-7202

Damon S. Calderwood and 3 others spent 9 days photographing a pair of Varied Thrush and their 3 babies in a Douglas Fir. The nest, made mostly of mosses, was located next the trunk about 10 feet off the ground. Damon set up 4 high-speed strobes at a safe distance and his camera, with a 70 – 300 zoom, was on a stand 12 feet above ground and 12 feet from the nest. The camera was fired by remote. The blind, complete with chair, was located 20 feet from the base of the nest tree. The two adult birds paid no attention to our presence other than the daily lowering of the tripods with the strobes to change the rechargeable batteries.
We photographed the 2 thrush for 9 days from the 1 to the 9th of July. On the 8th of July the male did not appear at the nest. We’d seen a Douglas Squirrel within 20 feet but it was the consensus of the group that a Cooper’s Hawk likely predated the male. The babies fledged on the morning of the 10th.