[Tweeters] the almost crepuscular thrush

tomboulian at comcast.net tomboulian at comcast.net
Sat Feb 11 20:11:20 PST 2023


I too have been treated to regular varied thrushes this winter--currently
two males and probably 5 females, though not in the flocks just following
the snow. Previously, any varied thrush meant a grab for the camera; now
they're just always around. Eating millet--which was new for me--usually it
was just the attraction of running water and some snowberries. I use
food-grade millet on the ground, so no shells, no mess, no sprouting, no
sales tax--and they lap those up with their very long tongues. First in the
morning for sure, with the towhees. Around all day , but more actively
singing in almost crepuscular hours. I wonder if the robins and varieds
look at each other and wonder what the other's secret weapon is. They
certainly are built differently and forage differently, but look the same
flying and flocking.

Thrushes really are low light birds--the robins start singing at 430 am in
the spring. Growing up in Michigan I had wood thrushes first and last in
the day. On the East side of the mountains here, the Veeries and Swainson's
are all-day singers, but only in the deep thickets except at dawn and dusk.
In Costa Rica the Clay-colored thrushes (national bird) were their
equivalent to our robin, as well as nightingale thrushes. And the Hwamei of
Asia (and Hawaii).

And don't forget the nightingale itself, as well as "blackbird singing in
the dead of night" from the Beatles' England...their blackbird being a
Turdus thrush as well.

Mark Tomboulian

Shoreline, WA


-----Original Message-----
From: Dennis Paulson
Sent: Saturday, February 11, 2023 4:39 PM
To: TWEETERS tweeters
Subject: [Tweeters] the almost crepuscular thrush

Hello tweets,

We’ve had Varied Thrushes in the yard ever since that cold, snowy spell in
late December, and it’s interesting to have them around so much. One thing I
noted is how they do well in very low light levels. I think that’s true for
other thrushes as well—they seem to have big eyes.

They begin to feed before it is light out, when I can barely see a movement
in the grass. Yes, they feed on our “lawn” where we sprinkle millet seeds
regularly. And they feed on those seeds everywhere we put them, including in
the shrubbery. They remain in the yard feeding until very late in the
afternoon, too. I’ve noticed that Spotted Towhees do the same thing, often
not appearing in the yard until it is getting dark. Of course they can be
present at any time of day, but they are definitely the last bird to feed on
some afternoons. With the short days in the winter, feeding at 3:30 pm can
be almost dark.

Varied Thrushes of both sexes also bathe in our fountain just before it gets
dark, too dark to see anything but a silhouette splashing in the water.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Dennis Paulson
Seattle
_______________________________________________
Tweeters mailing list
Tweeters at u.washington.edu
http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters




More information about the Tweeters mailing list