Sunday, January 5, 2014

Winter of the Towhee?

Coopers Hawk
There seemed to be a difference of opinion on the temperature this morning at 8:10 a.m. My cell phone declared it a balmy 25 degrees, but the car thermometer differed at 17 degrees. Either way, it was cold, but clear and sunny.

First off, I saw a robin and a couple of blue jays but not much else. As I trudged through the snow to the sunny part of the lower gardens near the golf course side, I heard the distinctive call of the towhee. It seemed to be coming from the golf course, so I went down the path to the golf course, but it had stopped calling and I couldn't locate it.

Chickadee
Eventually, the sun spread to the woodsy/swamp side of the lower gardens where I saw some chickadees. Silently, a Coopers Hawk flew in to survey the situation. It was there for quite a while… A nuthatch was making its nasally sound and a pair of juncos appeared as I headed to the upper gardens. Three flocks of Canada geese flew overhead.

Near the soccer field was a beautiful cardinal, a robin, a crow flying, several juncos and a few goldfinches. I know there is a bitter battle about bittersweet, but I have to say, it seemed to be the main attraction for the birds today - especially when the snow is covering up so much. I was hoping for a golden crowned kinglet which I didn't see, but had another surprise instead.

Cold Hermit Thrush
Up above me, high on a branch was a bird with dark brown spots on it's breast, looking like a thrush, but it seemed too small. It kept flicking its tail and had a rufous sort of coloration. There was a slight eye ring and it's beak was orange with black at the tip. I thought at first it might be a Veery because of its small size, but that seemed unlikely in the winter. I knew others had seen a Hermit thrush and I've seen them before in the past, but somehow, I imagined it would be bigger. Finally when I got home and I opened my book, I realized it must be the Hermit thrush. I learned they are smaller than other thrushes and they have a habit of flicking their tails, so that decided it.

If anyone disagrees, please let me know! Thanks…

All in all, for such a cold and quiet day, it turned out to be quite nice.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Suzette,

    Hermit Thrush is definitely the mostly likely by season, but your description and picture fit too. I think of Veerys as being really washed out and almost ghostly because their breast spots are faint, this bird has some strong breast spots.

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  2. Matt, thanks so much for the confirmation!

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