I stumbled across a flock of Varied Thrushes in Laurelhurst Park on my morning walk the other day. It was the morning Portland got it’s first snow of the year. About an inch of snow, enough to make Portland driving turn into slip and sliding maniacs, is what we received. I was out at the park taking pictures of the fresh blanket of snow. Unfortunately it wasn’t very much snow at all, so I didn’t get any snow cold landscapes, but these Thrushes were skittering about in the underbrush, and I think I got a few images that are pretty decent? Varied Thrushes always surprise me with their beauty. They can be some what camouflage in the Northwest forest, but they skitter about a lot, so if you hear one whistling – like a referee’s whistle – nearby, stop and wait a bit, they’ll move fast and you’ll see their beautiful nature revealed. What do you think of these images? Leave a comment below or rate this post above.
I was fortunate in my life to have had to walk through a giant Redwood Forest to get to classes while in college. In Northern California I lived with a 700 acre Redwood Forest in my backyard, the school I needed to get to, on the other side of that forest. Over 2 years, I walked in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings, listening to the Varied Thrush’s call, thinking it’s a referees whistle on a park basketball court. Despite it’s loud whistle for a call, the Varied Thrush is an elusive bird, preferring to stay high in the forest so no one will see them. I didn’t see my first one for at least 2 years after living in the Redwood Forest. Occasionally they will venture down to the lower parts of the forest and forage in the underbrush. And that is how I saw my first one.
As I had some extra time one afternoon, I went for a casual hike in the forest one day. Along some brush I had to pass to get into the forest, I heard the tale tell whistle of the Varied Thrush. I stopped, and looked into the brush for about a minute before the Varied Thrush that called, moved. What a beautiful bird I thought while gasping when I saw her. She was camouflaged in the brush until she moved. And, I saw my first Varied Thrush, up close and personal.
Thanks for stopping by.
Peace
~V
Emerald Studio Photography 