[Tweeters] the almost crepuscular thrush

[Hal Opperman]

Bicknell’s Thrush also goes beyond crepuscular, singing on into the late evening. On June 4, 1995, as part of a quick New England expedition to see three soon-to-be new splits, Bob Morse and I found ourselves part way up the Mt. Washington toll road in New Hampshire in can’t-see-your-hand-in-front-of your face darkness, in good krummholz habitat. Over a stretch of road between mileposts 3 and 4 past the toll gate we were treated to an estimated thirty birds in full, loud song, for over an hour, well past nightfall under heavy low cloud cover. A few even paraded on the pavement for good flashlight viewing. These bird had probably only arrived over the previous week or ten days and had not yet settled down to nest, making for a very special, and especially memorable, choral life-bird experience.

By the way we also found the Nelson’s and Saltmarsh Sparrows on their breeding grounds, and published a little finding guide for all three species in the ABA’s "Winging It" newsletter. My copy’s in a box somewhere in a storage unit, and the typescript still on my computer is in some no longer openable runic version of Word. The newsletter archive is accessible, and searchable, online at the ABA website (members only), if anyone wants to see more details.

Hal Opperman
Seattle  


> On Feb 12, 2023, at 12:02 PM, tweeters-request at mailman11.u.washington.edu wrote:

> 

> From: Scott Ramos <nearpost at gmail.com>

> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] the almost crepuscular thrush

> Date: February 12, 2023 at 8:57:44 AM PST

> Cc: TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>

> 

> 

> Thrushes do seem to have crepuscular habits. Camping in the mountains and beyond is a good way to experience this. Below about 3000 ft, one of the first birds to call and sing, even before dawn, is Swainson's Thrush, often accompanied by Robins. And, the last bird singing at dusk is ... Swainson's. Above 3000 feet, Hermit Thrush takes on these duties. I have had them still singing way past nightfall while listening for owls. For many years, I have run a Breeding Bird Survey near Liberty (thanks, Sharon!) and at our first stop at the designated start time--4:34 am--the most reliable singer is Veery. Listening to any of the Turdidae is always a highlight of trips to the mountains.

> 

> Scott Ramos

> Seattle

>