[Tweeters] the almost crepuscular thrush

[Tom Benedict]

This reminds me of a magic moment some years ago during the CBC at Discovery Park. My 14 year old son and I arrived about two hours before sunrise for the “Owl Prowl” portion. No owls were encountered but as we returned to the parking lot about a 30 minutes before daybreak, we heard the whistle of a VATH. Following that flute-like call we could barely make out the faint profile of two birds scratching and poking the margins of the underbrush.

BTW, we still have a few in our yard, gorging on pyracantha berries, along with their cousins the American Robins. Nowhere near the numbers we saw during the ‘big freeze’, though.

Tom Benedict
Seahurst, WA


> On Feb 11, 2023, at 16:39, Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson at comcast.net> wrote:

> 

> 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.

> 

> 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