I'm pretty sure Shawneen's bird was in November, in residential nw Portland. As
result of having a dog she took daily walks and saw it daily, perhaps after
dark thanks to street lights. It may have lingered into December . Sent from my
Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
-------- Original message --------From: "Paul T. Sullivan"
<paultsullivan@xxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: 12/16/21 5:12 AM (GMT-08:00) To: OBOL
<obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [obol] The wintering Catharus thrush problem
We’ve had this discussion on OBOL before. Separating Hermit from Swainson’s
Thrushes in winter. Lars posting of a diagram of a wing leads into the need to
have a bird in hand – or a lucky diagnostic photo – to confirm that a putative
wintering Swainson’s Thrush is not a Hermit Thrush. I’d guess that 99% of
birders are not banders and rarely have a bird in hand. I last banded birds on
a research project in the summer of 1980. Today a limited fraction of birders
carry a powerful digital camera, but do they have it in hand when the thrush
comes by? Years ago, with three other experienced birders, I saw a
Swainson’s-type thrush on the Florence CBC. We saw it at 20 feet away perched
up in a bush. We saw the tail the same color as the back, the pale face, the
diffuse spotting on the breast. On a nearby lawn we saw an obvious Hermit
Thrush with a rusty tail and heavy spotting on the breast. We reported in at
the countdown to Alan Contreras, who was skeptical. I wrote up notes. Not
good enough he said. I got the others to write notes. Not good enough again.
The regional editor finally told me that he couldn’t pass the report up the
chain, it wouldn’t fly.I felt like the high school basketball coach whose team
led all through the championship game, only to lose because of a questionable
officiating call in the last seconds. My friends said, “You won that game.
You were robbed. You can be proud of your team.” But like the coach I had to
swallow and come back next year. Life goes on. I know from personal
communication that Swainson’s Thrushes have been reported on the CBC for
Portland, Salem, Newport, Florence, Tillamook, and probably others. All were
dismissed as mis-identified Hermit Thrushes. The going wisdom is that ALL
Swainson’s Thrushes are gone from Oregon by some date in November and they are
well south of Oregon at Christmas. The argument, from those who know, is:
“They’re not here. I’ve never seen one, and I don’t believe people who report
them, because they’re not here.” That’s circular reasoning. However, we know
that birds that are supposed to be well south of Oregon do show up on the
winter, e.g. a Vermillion Flycatcher in Seattle or a Black-throated Blue
Warbler at Bonneville dam, among many others. When that happens, birders flock
to see the vagrant. However, a report of an out-of-place Swainson’s Thrush in
December doesn’t get chased. Birders already have it on their year list for
Oregon. Reports of wintering Swainson’s Thrushes are not investigated. Still
one can ask, “If these other species can appear out-of-season, why can’t
Swainson’s Thrushes? Finally, an observer with the heft to be believed saw a
Swainson’s Thrush in winter. Shawneen Finnegan found one a few years ago,
reported it with enough detail, and was believed. So now we know it can
happen. Cheers, Paul Sullivan
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