Brown Thrasher

Coincidentally, I made my second business trip in four weeks to Atlanta this past week. Last time, I had a free day and visited Olmsted Park and Fernbank Forest. This time I spent some time at Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area—Cochran Shoals Unit.
It was a very nice day and the trail along the river was very active with birds even though it was heavily used by joggers and walkers. The trail was actually a light-use gravel road used by service vehicles, so there was plenty of room for everyone and the birds didn't seem to mind all the people. Interestingly enough, when I left this trail and ventured into the more forested areas of the park, my bird sightings went way down.
I saw many of the same birds I saw last time; Carolina Wrens, Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Blue Jays and Northern Cardinals. New birds this time included a Brown Thrasher and a juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker.
The Brown Thrasher above is the first I've seen since I was young back in Minnesota. Most of the time it was foraging on the ground in among the brush where I could only get glimpses of it. At one point though, it did come out and spend a little time on a branch above me so I could get a few pictures of it.