Day 55: thrush trifecta

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OUR TOP STORY!

uncommon but regular 

At Day 55, we are still playing it safe. Being mindful of the moment. Savoring the day-to-day rhythms of our lives, waiting for something wonderful to present itself...and it usually does with proper patience.

Here in East Tennessee we are fortunate. We have five species of brown-backed, spotted thrushes that spend time with us. All are accomplished songsters.

The hermit thrush is only here in winter, returning to the high Smokies and north into the New England area and Canada to nest in the early spring. 

The wood thrush, perhaps the most beloved of the group for its song, nests here in the understory of wooded areas so we hear them from late April until August.

That leaves three species that simply migrate through the Tennessee Valley. The veery nests in the Great Smokies and farther to the north and the long-distance migrant, the Swainson's thrush, passes through in the spring and nests in Canada.

That only leaves the mysterious migrant, the gray-cheeked thrush that also nest in Canada and Alaska. Listed as uncommon but regular by TWRA, they perhaps fly over Tennessee at night in the spring and fall if the winds are favorable. But if the winds are not, they take a rest stop in our woods. The gray-cheeks are also noted for being quite shy, not showing themselves readily. 

Local artist, Vickie Henderson sent me an email. She had scored a Thrush Trifecta. Wood thrushes had been singing around her studio home in the woods for a couple of weeks followed by visiting Swainson's thrushes, but much to her surprise, the most elusive gray-cheeked thrush, a life-bird for her, joined them after the rains passed through and even posed for a few photos.  

Indeed. Ob-la-de, ob-la-da.

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