<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Just to add to the tweeters accounts (probably so many more on eBird), we counted 9 Varied Thrushes at one time in our backyard today. Dave Nunnallee told me he had 18 at once in their yard in Issaquah. Clearly a massive flight into the lowlands of western Washington, more than any time in my experience.<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Anyone who has seen several of them in the same place knows how very aggressive they are. They chase one another constantly, much like hummingbirds that are hardwired to be territorial no matter how abundant the food resource. As usual, the males are the real jerks (oops, I should say at the top of the dominance hierarchy).<br class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Dennis Paulson</div><div class="">Maple Leaf, Seattle<br class=""><div><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On Dec 21, 2022, at 4:43 PM, Joan Miller <<a href="mailto:jemskink@gmail.com" class="">jemskink@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small">I was so delighted to find two Varied Thrushes poking around my yard today! They hung around for quite a while, kicking up duff and grazing under the seed feeder. I was able to get a few good photos. I hope they stick around for a while. It was a busy feeder day, with Juncos, Stellers Jays, Fox Sparrows, Golden-Crowned Sparrows, Chickadees, Flickers and Anna's hummers. Didn't see any Bushtits or Bewick's wrens.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br class=""></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small">Oh, I heard a new bird call - like a soft chuck chuck. Turned out to be the Varied Thrush!</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br class=""></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small">Joan Miller</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small">West Seattle</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small">jemskink at gmail dot com</div></div>
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