An amateur photographer in Oregon last week captured a subject that sent bird lovers into a tizzy – as it is said to be the first time this particular species has been spotted in the US.
Some experts are calling it the “bird of the century”.
“It’s a very rare thing to set a first-in-the-nation record in Oregon,” Brody Cass Talbot, senior educator and travel expert for the Bird Alliance of Oregon, told Fox News Digital. “This may not happen again for decades.”
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It was Michael Sanchez, a middle school band director from Vancouver, Oregon, who was photographing a waterfall at Hug Point State Recreation Site, just south of Canon Beach, at sunrise on April 21.
The blue rock thrush is native to Europe and Asia and has apparently never been seen before in the Americas. (Michael Sanchez Photography)
“I got as many pictures as I could of the waterfall, and then I just turned around and saw this little black bird,” Sanchez told Fox News Digital. He said he later realized that the bird was actually blue.
“I’m a new photographer, so I thought ‘I’ve got to capture something interesting.’ I took some pictures of the bird. It was a really nice little model for me.”
little bird The lingering pause allowed Sanchez to adjust his camera settings, he said.
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“It just stayed there on the sand and was all by itself,” he said.
Michael Sanchez is a middle school band director who has recently taken up a hobby of photography. (Michael Sanchez Photography)
“I figured out all the settings on my camera and took a few pictures. Then, after about a minute or two it flew up to some rocks. I took a few more pictures of it on the rocks and then, after a few moments, it flew away ”
Sanchez said he didn’t think too much of the bird, but after reviewing his photos, he noticed that the “little black bird” was actually more colorful than he thought – with orange undersides. Blue.
After posting her photos on social media, Sanchez quickly discovered she had encountered something very rare.
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“It all started from there,” he said. “I was excited because that’s how funny it is for a brand new photographer to have luck…seeing this amazingly rare bird. It’s gone wild.”
Michael Sanchez, a middle school band teacher in Oregon, made headlines in the birding community after photographing a rare species that is believed to be the first to be seen in the US. (Michael Sanchez Photography)
Bird lovers from across the country began reaching out to Sanchez and telling him about the significance of his sighting – one of them telling him he had photographed an “exceptionally rare bird”, possibly the first in the lower 48 states. has been seen and, so far, has only been seen twice on one continent,” Sanchez said.
The bird making all the noise: Blue Rock Thrush, mostly solitary bird Native to Europe And Asia.
“It’s exceptionally rare,” Cass Talbot said.
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Cass Talbot said, “It’s as rare as they come because it’s the first one photographed in the United States.”
Brody Cass Talbot, who works with the Bird Alliance of Oregon, a conservation and education organization, said the only other record of a sighting of this bird in North America was in British Columbia in 1997. (Brody Cass Talbot)
According to Cass Talbot, there is only one previous record in North America, which was in British Columbia in 1997.
Cass Talbot said he had the opportunity to observe this species Living in Asia.
“They’re often roaming the ground,” Cass Talbot said. “You’ll usually find them sitting on a pile of rocks somewhere, or on a big rocky rock. They’re cute and adventurous and they just jump around and eat food different types of insects And other stuff.”
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How the blue rock thrush might have come to Oregon’s shores is unclear, according to Tim Janzen, secretary of the Oregon Birding Records Committee, the state organization that certifies the birds.
Tim Janzen, secretary of the Oregon Birding Records Committee, knows that people went out to try to see this amazing sight with their own eyes, but the bird disappeared and no one has seen it since. (Tim Janzen)
“My assumption about this particular bird is that it’s a vagrant,” Janzen said. “I think it will be accepted to a great extent a wild bird Because it’s not really near any shipping lanes or anything where we can say for sure it came from a ship. And even if it did come here, at least partly by ship, we would never know.”
In the days that followed, birders continued to flock to Hug Point in the hope of catching a glimpse of the Blue Rock Thrush – but to no avail.
“The unfortunate thing about this particular bird is that it didn’t hang around,” Janzen said.
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He added, “Michael (Sanchez) took pictures of it and then it disappeared – and no one knows where it went.”
The American Birding Association issued a “rare bird alert” a few days after Sanchez’s sighting. (Michael Sanchez Photography)
A few days after Sanchez’s sighting, the American Birding Association issued a “Rare Bird Alert,” Researchers have photographed the Blue Rock Thrush on the Farallon Islands southeast of San Francisco, California, the report said.
It is unknown whether the bird seen nearly 500 miles away from Hug Point is the same one photographed by Sanchez.
It’s currently peak migration season, Cass Talbott said, and sometimes that can send birds astray.
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“Most songwriters migrate alone,” he said. “One possible idea was that it was migrating north, got disoriented by a heavy storm and either got so lost from its path that it flew away and kept flying until (In) Oregon landed, Or it flew into the ocean, it found a boat, it landed on the boat and it stayed there until the boat reached the west coast of the United States. “This appears to be a leading theory.”
Cass Talbot said the bird’s sighting could mean it stopped somewhere it shouldn’t have before eventually returning home. (Michael Sanchez Photography)
Cass Talbot said sometimes birds end up somewhere they shouldn’t and never return home. But the public can help, he said.
“We want to remind people that by doing things like turning off lights during migration, keeping cats indoors and making windows bird-safe, we can help ensure these birds return there Get where they need to go.” Talbot said.
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This amazing scene reminded Sanchez that “beauty can be found everywhere” and that people should keep their eyes open. (Michael Sanchez Photography)
Sanchez said his students are excited to have him bird pictures – And he’s encouraging them to see the beauty all around them.
“I’m a musician, so that’s where my artistic background comes from,” he said.
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“It can be really hard to find in some places, but there’s nothing wrong with looking for beauty, no matter where you are – and keep your eyes and heart open.”
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