Lots of my backyard birds are regulars, like Norm, Cliff and Frasier – the bar patrons at Cheers. Several other of my bird friends come only periodically, and this includes one of my late summer visitors, the wood thrush.
Thrushes are said to return to the same woodlands each March to nest. They usually have two clutches, then move on, in this case to my yard. They hang around the back of the yard near the forsythia bushes and I see them scurrying along, chasing after bugs and insects. Yesterday, I saw a thrush that had captured a large insect and he was banging away with his beak, breaking the hapless bug into smaller, more edible parts. Thrushes are insectivores but will also eat worms, land snails and fruit when available, I have never seen one at any of my feeders. They can run, however at a pretty fast clip.
Thrushes are average sized birds, a tad on the plump side, but they have beautiful, speckled breasts. Nancy said she thought she saw a juvenile thrush just this morning.
If the climate is sufficiently warm, thrushes are year -round residents. In our case, here in Virginia, I think the winters are a little too cold for their liking, thus they vamoose in late fall and I won’t see them again next summer after they raise their chicks. They are certainly pretty birds and are always welcome in my yard.