{"id":14817,"date":"2014-04-23T05:44:26","date_gmt":"2014-04-23T11:44:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=14817"},"modified":"2025-11-06T06:40:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T12:40:56","slug":"sage-thrashers-and-sagebrush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/04\/23\/sage-thrashers-and-sagebrush\/","title":{"rendered":"Sage Thrashers and Sagebrush"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FluffedFluffed up Sage Thrasher and pastel hues – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/400, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or called in<\/span><\/p>\n

Sage Thrashers are considered sagebrush obligates meaning that they require sagebrush for some part of their life cycle and\u00a0for the Sage Thrashers in Utah that means they need it during the breeding cycle. Antelope Island State Park<\/span><\/a> has many large expanses of sagebrush steppe\u00a0areas where the thrashers can breed. Sage Thrashers and Sagebrush just go hand in hand in my mind here in Utah.<\/p>\n

\"VeryVery alert Sage Thrasher\u00a0– Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or called in<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In some areas where Sage Thrashers have bred in the past their habitat has been destroyed by ranchers tearing out the sagebrush and converting those areas to open range land.<\/p>\n

Just recently I saw a large swath of land cleared for either cattle or horses in the foothills of the Stansbury Mountains where I have seen Sage Thrashers during their breeding season.<\/p>\n

Large scale removal of sagebrush on public and private land also has a detrimental effect on other sagebrush obligates which include 8 species of vertebrates.<\/p>\n

I adore the spicy, pungent aroma of sagebrush and every time I see a photo of a Sage Thrasher I can almost smell it.<\/p>\n

I wish computers had the ability to emit aromas for those of you who have never had the opportunity to get a whiff of sagebrush. Some people hate it but I am in the love it camp.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Sage Thrasher photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sage Thrashers are considered sagebrush obligates meaning that they require sagebrush for some part of their life cycle and for the Sage Thrashers in Utah that means they need it during the breeding cycle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":162814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[511,27,1022,103,26],"tags":[4004,4540,2519,11978,10552,3035,821,4164,4104,4003,4057,4879,2660,165,4613,735],"class_list":["post-14817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-sage-thrashers","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-alert","tag-artemisia-tridentata","tag-desert-island","tag-fluffed","tag-fluffy","tag-mimids-2","tag-oreoscoptes-montanus","tag-perched","tag-sage-thrasher","tag-sagebrush","tag-sagebrush-obligate","tag-sagebrush-steppe","tag-spring","tag-thrasher","tag-thrashers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sage-thrasher-adult-perched-mia-mcpherson-5990.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-3QZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21014,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/03\/22\/sage-thrashers-and-the-rapidly-disappearing-sea-of-sage\/","url_meta":{"origin":14817,"position":0},"title":"Sage Thrashers and the Rapidly Disappearing Sea of Sage","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Can the disappearance of Sagebrush Seas be stopped? Yes, it could be but we need lawmakers that believe in science and act on it.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sage Thrasher in golden light, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sage-thrasher-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-5676.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sage-thrasher-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-5676.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sage-thrasher-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-5676.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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McPherson","date":"April 20, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent some time yesterday on Antelope Island State Park photographing and listening to a very cooperative and melodious Sage Thrasher.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Singing Sage Thrasher in low light, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sage-thrasher-singing-low-light-mia-mcpherson-5350.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sage-thrasher-singing-low-light-mia-mcpherson-5350.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2014","format":false,"excerpt":"While on Antelope Island yesterday I was able to photograph these two Sage Thrashers in two different locations with one perched on Sagebrush and the other on Rabbitbrush.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sage Thrasher with a peachy background, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/sage-thrasher-high-key-mia-mcpherson-9394.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/sage-thrasher-high-key-mia-mcpherson-9394.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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