As the weather has changed from the cold of winter to the milder weather of spring, Michael Sanchez, a hobbyist photographer was given a gift. The photographer was at the Hug Point State Recreation, south of Cannon Beach on the Pacific Coast of Oregon. His intention was to shoot a waterfall, when he spotted an attractive bird. The bird cooperated and stayed still long enough for Michael to get numerous shots.
While shooting, Sanchez thought the bird was black in color. When he went to develop the film the bird was actually bright blue with chestnut colored breast feathers. The pics once posted on social media were fondly embraced by birders.
The gift that I alluded to in the introduction is the bird Michael shot is a Blue Rock Thrush. This is the first time the bird was spotted in the United States. The bird is normally found in Europe and South Asia.
Birds that are found away from their natural habitats are called vagrants. Vagrants can happen due to geomagnetic disturbances, bad weather, or possibly flying out of its normal range. There was a Blue Rock Thrush spotted on an island near San Francisco. If this is the same bird, then it flew 500 miles in four days. If it is not the same bird, then birdwatchers keep watching. Rare bird sighting WTH.
