At last! I have seen my mystery bird.
The bird who wakes me from an early sleep, the only sound of the morning--with a crystalline song.
The bird who serenades me with beautiful songs each evening-- a little trill barely audible, unless you are very still.
The bird I had never caught even a glimpse of, though many times I tried, sitting perched at the woods' edge, straining to see.
The bird who is watchlisted, because of declining numbers--forest defragmentation--came hopping across my grass this morning.
A Wood Thrush.
Apparently they are nesting in the very leafy woods.
And that is good news.
In ferreting out facts about Wood Thrushes, I came across these two nature writers' accounts you might enjoy--Robert Winkler and Marcia Bonta.
Enjoy!
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8 comments:
Well, you have sent me off to my bird ID sites to listen to the wood thrush song.
Good for you in IDing it.
I hear birds all the time that I can't see--it drives me nuts.
Love the wood thrush song and I've only heard it once. Without a doubt, it's one of the most beautiful bird songs there is (at least in my humble opinion).
Dear Nina,
Wood Thrush! I have never seen one. I will take to the woods and if at all lucky I too will get to hear and see one. I so enjoyed your links.
Thanks,
Sherry
You are so blessed. I only hear thrush music a bit during migration. This had me remembering Robert Frost's:
"Come In"
As I came to the edge of the woods,
Thrush music -- hark!
Now if it was dusk outside,
Inside it was dark.
Too dark in the woods for a bird
By sleight of wing
To better its perch for the night,
Though it still could sing.
The last of the light of the sun
That had died in the west
Still lived for one song more
In a thrush's breast.
Far in the pillared dark
Thrush music went --
Almost like a call to come in
To the dark and lament.
But no, I was out for stars;
I would not come in.
I meant not even if asked;
And I hadn't been
I've never fully explained the meaning of the poem to myself - except to know that thrush song is made of magic.
To have this "Shakespeare of a bird " greet you every morning insures a wonderful day -- lets hope the cowbirds do not find the nest. The Bonta
account is especially thorough,making one appreciate all the more how fortunate you are to have this queen among songsters in your back yard.
I enjoyed your links, Nina. The wood thrush will remain!
I've never seen one and don't know if I've heard one. It's a beautiful bird and you are lucky to have one for a neighbor.
Oh, how I adore the wood thrush. I've seen it high in the branches in my backyard once or twice. But I hear it nightly in the woods across the street. I can only describe their song as ethereal.
Isn't that sound one of the most beautiful in the bird world? I heard my first wood thrush a week ago, at RAPTOR's new site near CNC. Stopped me dead in my tracks.
And you have a nesting pair????? Lucky!
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