14 May 2022
Wood thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) are back in Schenley Park after their winter sojourn in Central America.
Yesterday this one used his beautiful voice to claim a nesting territory near the Bartlett tufa bridge. Click here or on the screenshot below to hear him sing.
Of all the birds he wins “Best In Song.”
(photo from Wikimedia Commons, video by Kate St. John)
The Wood Thrush has a beautiful song, but I’ve always though it funny that it throws in a couple of unrelated notes at the end, that are buzzy or sound like someone knocking. They just don’t seem to belong with the beginning of the song. I hear them all the time in our woods but never see them.
The National Aviary led a walk on Presque Isle last Saturday looking for warblers. What a great trip that was! I am terrible at finding and identifying warblers on my own. It was great to have guides who could tell you where to look and what the birds were. And we got to watch bird banding also. Lots of life birds for me last weekend.