Saturday, January 31, 2015

Hermit Thrush in Winter

1. hermit thrush in yard-kab Hermit Thrush in my yard January 18, 2015

Hermit Thrushes are rare but possible here in Maine in the Winter. They are the only brown thrush usually seen in North America during the winter. This little guy showed up in my yard on January 18th and has been here ever since! I have seen it eating berries, seeds and suet as well as the mealworms I put out for the chickadees and titmice. It was feeding right along with all the other birds during the blizzard and it was here again yesterday. Hermit Thrushes are related to Robins and Bluebirds, though most often they are confused with Wood Thrushes, Swainson’s Thrushes and Veerys during the summer if you don’t know what to look for. So how do you know you have a Hermit Thrush and not one of the other species of thrush?

2. HETH-kab Look for a complete white eye-ring and brown spots on the breast.

 

3. eye ring and collar of spots-kab The bird is olive brown in color with a rust-colored tail.

 

4. hiding in the thicket-kab It is the only thrush with this brown upperparts and rusty tail.

 

5. eating berries-kab It has a complete eye-ring that does not look like spectacles!

 

6. beneath the rhodedendron bush-kab Can you see it hiding beneath the rhododendron bush?

I took this photo on January 21st.

There is a feeder just out of sight around the corner.

7. searching for food in the snow-kab This is the Hermit Thrush in my yard on 1-25-15

It is after last Saturday’s snow but before the blizzard.

8. before the blizzard-kab I hope it makes it through until Spring!

4 comments:

  1. Pretty series on the Hermit Thrush! I've been seeing them in my yard too! Happy birding and have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those are some gorgeous photos and a perfect taste of Maine!

    ReplyDelete
  3. BEAUTIFUL Kathie! congrats on that. Makes cabin fever a little easier to deal with, huh?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Kathie.. Proof in the pudding or maybe I should say in the snow : ). Very nice post.

    ReplyDelete

Welcome to my nest! I hope you will enjoy spending time here with me and the birds. Thank you for your comments. I will try to get back to you as soon as I get back from counting more birds.