 Breeding evidence |
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Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
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Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
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Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
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Atlas Results
The Sage Thrasher was detected in two locations during the atlas; a singing individual was encountered briefly at Jones Peak near Eastend in 2017, and a nesting pair were photographed carrying food on private land near Grasslands National Park in 2020. In 2019, the landowner had reported an individual singing to the Canadian Wildlife Service, but it is not known whether a breeding attempt was made that year as only one bird was observed.
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
The Sage Thrasher is well named, as it is a breeding bird of sagebrush plains of the Great Basin and western portions of the northern Great Plains. It barely reaches Canada in the Okanagan-Similkameen Valleys of British Columbia and in southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan. During the winter it withdraws to the southern fringes of its breeding range east through Texas and south into Baja California and central Mexico.
Migrants have been seen in a variety of open and semi-open habitats including along fencelines. Territorial birds have been noted in a range of wooded habitats, especially silver [hoary] sagebrush, but once each in a juniper stand, greasewood, a buffaloberry copse, and a clump of roses.
Although sporadic breeding or breeding attempts have occurred in the southwestern portion of the province since 1934, the species has failed to become firmly established. This may be due to its preference for stands of big sagebrush, which are absent from the province. Most records are from the Great Sand Hills and the Saskatchewan Landing area south, with vagrants as far north as Porter Lake 23 Jun 1963 and as far east as Bromhead 21 Jun 1985 (Harris 1985b).
Original text by Alan R. Smith. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Sage Thrasher in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Sage Thrasher in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=SATH&lang=en [09 Nov 2025]
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