Rumor has it spring is almost here. Which reminds me of late December, when a checker at Thriftway paused to ask me, “What’s going on with the birds? They seem much more active than a week ago.” She described a burst of activity and song by robins, chickadees, sparrows and other winter resident songbirds a day or two after the winter solstice. Were they already responding to the beginning of longer days? Maybe.
After I referred to the robin as a thrush in the Enjoyment of Birds class, a woman asked me, “Alan, what exactly is a thrush?” I digressed to say a little more about this family of robin-like songbirds. Characteristically plump and upright, they hop across the ground feeding on worms and grubs and foraging for berries and insects in trees and shrubs. A diverse family worldwide including bluebirds, solitaires and other species, thrushes are perhaps best known for their lovely songs.
A neighbor recently said, “Hey Alan, the birds are back!” She described the songs she had been hearing, but she was surprised when I told her those are resident birds that never really left. What’s “back” is the sun; the birds are singing on cue to the lengthening of the day.
People often look at me curiously as I walk around the ferry cabin carrying binoculars around my neck and stopping to peer out windows. Once a ferry worker asked me what I was looking at. I offered her my binoculars and pointed so she could see for herself.
On the October Audubon bird walk a newcomer from Detroit looked surprised when I said we would be checking on the arriving winter migrants. She asked, “Did you say birds migrate HERE for the WINTER?” From her delight at this discovery, I could see that she was ticking another 100 points onto her mental scoreboard for Vashon versus Detroit!
While the songs of summer birds are on the wane, many birds are already on the move. By early September, millions of migratory songbirds and shorebirds will fill the skies.
