{"id":56920,"date":"2019-03-29T06:06:54","date_gmt":"2019-03-29T12:06:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=56920"},"modified":"2025-11-07T06:29:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T12:29:06","slug":"resting-sage-thrasher-plus-my-concerns-about-biting-gnats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/03\/29\/resting-sage-thrasher-plus-my-concerns-about-biting-gnats\/","title":{"rendered":"Resting Sage Thrasher Plus My Concerns About Biting Gnats"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SageSage Thrasher resting in rabbitbrush – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve been seeing Sage Thrashers on Antelope Island<\/span><\/a> for a while now but haven’t been able to get any photos of them yet. The first Sage Thrasher I saw was in really awful light and the one I could have photographed I wasn’t able to due to circumstances beyond my control.<\/p>\n

Last year when the Sage Thrashers would have been displaying there was rainy, nasty weather and really poor lighting conditions so I didn’t get any photos of them during that time and it was disappointing. I’m not sure about this year either since we have been having more than our fair share of rain, heavy clouds and yes, even snow. There is fresh snow on the ground here this morning, it doesn’t look like there is much snow but I am wondering how the thrashers are dealing with it.<\/p>\n

One of the other reasons I didn’t get photos of the Sage Thrashers displaying last year was the biting gnats that come out about this time on Antelope Island because I’ve grown weary of being bitten by them and having to deal with itchy, weepy wounds caused by their bites so I avoided being on the island while the gnats were bad. Last year for a few days I looked like a gargoyle because a bite near my eye caused swelling next to and below my eye.<\/p>\n

I feel some hesitancy about being on the island now. Insect repellent does not<\/em> work for the biting gnats and the bug netting I wore over my head didn’t seem to help much either. Sometimes I am willing to pay the price for the bird photographs I take and sometimes I am not especially when they trigger my already hyperactive immune system.<\/p>\n

If the thrashers display before the biting gnats appear that would be great.<\/p>\n

So as of right now I am not sure whether I will be spending time on the island after the biting gnats come out which means if I am going to photograph Sage Thrashers displaying I need to find the thrashers some place else.<\/p>\n

This Sage Thrasher photo was taken on Antelope Island on March 22, 2015 as it rested for a bit on the fluffy seeds of a rabbitbrush.<\/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":"

So as of right now I am not sure whether I will be spending time on the island after the biting gnats come out which means if I am going to photograph Sage Thrashers displaying I need to find the thrashers some place else. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":163019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,27,1022,103,26],"tags":[4004,514,821,4164,4104,4289,4156,4003,4613,735],"class_list":["post-56920","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-biting-gnats","tag-mimids-2","tag-oreoscoptes-montanus","tag-perched","tag-rabbitbrush","tag-resting","tag-sage-thrasher","tag-thrasher","tag-thrashers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sage-thrasher-dried-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-3804.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-eO4","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":100621,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/13\/looking-for-my-first-of-year-sage-thrasher\/","url_meta":{"origin":56920,"position":0},"title":"Looking For My First Of Year Sage Thrasher","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"March 13th is an anniversary of sorts for me. The date is the earliest that I have seen and photographed a Sage Thrasher in northern Utah.","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":"Fluffy Sage Thrasher adult warming up on a rock, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/sage-thrasher-adult-on-rock-mia-mcpherson-0248.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/sage-thrasher-adult-on-rock-mia-mcpherson-0248.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/sage-thrasher-adult-on-rock-mia-mcpherson-0248.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Sage Thrashers return to northern Utah in March and it is now time for me to start listening for their songs and melodies.","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":"Perched adult Sage Thrasher, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sage-thrasher-adult-mia-mcpherson-2876.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-adult-mia-mcpherson-2876.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sage-thrasher-adult-mia-mcpherson-2876.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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