Jack
According to Gabrielson and Jewett, the subspecies of Hermit Thrush which was
in the 1940's called the Sierra Hermit Thrush was a "summer resident and
breeding species along summit of Cascades". I have birded very little in that
section of the state, but distinctly remember finding singing birds in June not
far from Scout Lake in southwestern Jefferson County. That site is only about
fifteen air miles from Clear Lake. Presumably Hermit Thrushes at Clear Lake in
early October would just as likely be ones dispersing from nearby breeding
sites in the Cascades as they would be first of season migrants from breeding
populations further north, and might thus provide more reasonable explanation
for five in one location.
Darrel
From: "jack williamson jr" <jack.williamson.jr@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Central Oregon Birders" <cobol@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "OBOL Oregon Birders Online" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2016 6:56:49 PM
Subject: [obol] Re: [COBOL] more FOS -- Hermit Thrush
Jill and I elected to hike around Clear Lake last Sunday rather than
participate in the Hawk Watch festivities going on up on Green Ridge because
our brand new (3 month - 2 week - 2 day old) Border Collie is not yet a
birding-compatible companion. But Remy will be as soon as she has trained us to
meet her every need.
Back on topic - we observed 12 (count em) Hermit Thrush on our hike around the
lake. Jill found five in a large group of elderberry bushes near the northeast
corner of the lake. She maintains they were eating berries. I argued at the
time that they were chasing insects - I was busy with the puppy duties while
Jill's show was going on.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
"In spring, the Hermit Thrush eats mainly insects such as beetles,
caterpillars, bees, ants, wasps, and flies. They also occasionally eat small
amphibians and reptiles. In the winter, they change their diet to eat more
fruit, including wild berries."
So there you go - I didn't think I had anything to contribute to the local
knowledge until I read Mark's post.
Twelve birds over 5-6 miles seemed entirely reasonable to me at the time, but
five in (one) place still has me scratching my head.
A short (off topic) slideshow of the scenery we enjoyed on our walk around the
lake including a cameo appearance of Jill and Remy is here.
https://goo.gl/yMXRCs ;
Jack Williamson
West Linn, Oregon
