[obol] Early Swainson's Thrush reports
- From: Joel Geier <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx>
- To: Oregon Birders OnLine <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2014 18:41:00 -0700
Hi all,
There are basically three kinds of Swainson's Thrush report:
1. Heard-only
2. Seen-only
3. Heard and seen
It would be helpful for the current discussion if all early reports of
Swainson's Thrushes were explained in terms of these categories.
With seen-only reports, the possibility of Hermit Thrush always looms,
but that's unlikely with heard-only reports.
In Benton County I've heard of three reports so far. Two of those were
heard-only reports of the "water drop" or "whit!" note. Although this is
fairly distinctive, both Song Sparrows and Brown-headed Cowbirds can
make similar sounds.
The other report (last week) was from a murrelet survey team which
reported both Hermit Thrush and Swainson's Thrush. I'm guessing that
these were also aural detections, but it wasn't clear if there was
visual confirmation.
If you think you're hearing a Swainson's Thrush, it's often possible to
lure the bird into view by doing a whistled imitation of the "whit!" If
you hear a bird that sounds like a Swainson's thrush and then see it and
it still looks like a Catharus thrush, there are not really any other
serious possibilities. However, for any encounter short of that, it's
wise to be be skeptical of what you are seeing or hearing.
Good birding,
Joel
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
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