[obol] Re: Early Swainson's Thrush reports
- From: Barbara Combs <bcombs232@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Oregon Birders OnLine <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2014 00:41:09 -0700
Of the two Swainson's Thrushes I found at Washburn Park in Eugene on Sunday
April 20, one was seen only and one was heard only. The seen only bird was
in the open on the ground underneath the evergreens on the east side of the
park. I was within 10 feet of the bird, and tried not to frighten it. The
bird was quite calm, aware of my presence but still walking on the ground
in front of me without diving for cover. The thrush shape, brown
coloration, and speckled breast with buffy wash were all evident. The tail
was NOT the rusty brown of a Hermit Thrush.
The other bird called from the ground but was in a tangle that I could not
see into. It called only once. This was a very unlikely spot for a
cowbird, and there were no other calls or noises that would suggest Song
Sparrow. Leaves were rustling in a couple of other places, so there were
a couple of other birds on the ground there that did not vocalize. I do
not know what they were.
In other years, I have also noticed Swainson's Thrushes on the early side
of the migration period. They have typically been silent. I think that
detection of Swainson's Thrushes usually begins later than their actual
arrival in most years because they are secretive and mostly silent when
they begin to arrive. They are not detected because they don't make much
noise and they move around where there is a lot of ground cover. Doubters
should go check out a number of locations with suitable habitat right now
and see what they can find. Then maybe we can move up the arrival date to
something more realistic.
On Thu, Apr 24, 2014 at 6:41 PM, Joel Geier <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 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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--
Barbara Combs obie '70
Lane County, OR
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