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First Brown Thrasher

claireplymouth z6b coastal MA

12 years ago

I saw the first Brown Thrasher of the season today. I think there's lots of worms around, at least according to the robin which comes every day. I also put suet dough nuggets out every morning so that should please the thrasher (someone on this forum told me about the suet dough last year).

Claire

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Comments (9)

tmff
12 years ago
I love their cinnamon brown color.
catherinet
12 years ago
I love their joyful talk from the top of the trees. :)
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We have 2 pairs of brown thrashers in our yard this year. I love them. They have the most hilarious song, it is like they are going through a big list of song clips from other birds, rapid-fire, one after another. Some mornings and evenings they just don't shut up. :D I think they are good birds..they eat lots of bugs. Haven't had any swoop at us yet and I'm sure we walk fairly close to their nest at times!
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nhbabs: Do you think the hawks are hunting something, like voles, near your house? Or maybe considering a nesting site close by? I saw the first Baltimore Orioles of the season today! and it's before the hummingbirds show up - usually the orioles come a little after the hummers. The grackles had gobbled up most of the suet outside and the orioles were picking at the scraps. I raced out and put new suet in all of the cages and added some apricot preserves in a dish. This one came back but didn't seem too impressed with the new suet. He did seem to be looking down at the preserves in the dish in the middle of the feeder. When they start showing interest in the fruit I'll phase out the suet in those cages to discourage the grackles. I have another suet feeder up in another area. Claire
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Thanks everyone...I always wondered why they were called Thrashers. I don't know if it's the reason, but we loved to watch them...they'd take the peanut to another location and "thrash" the heck out of it to break it into smaller pieces.
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dzyg
12 years ago
Love the Thrashers and yes they love peanut butter suet dough! Can't wait for them to return to my area.
gardener365
12 years ago
I saw one 7-10 days ago, too, Claire. The happy days of spring are here.

Nice shot.

Dax
vieja_gw
12 years ago
For the past three years we have had lots of the curve bill thrashers (orange around eye) that we have never seen before. The one 'couple' have built a 2-story nest in our tree cactus & have taken over the whole yard now! They drink from the fish pond or any of the six birdbaths around the yard & love to sit up high in our 40 ft. red cedar tree & converse! They are not afraid & will chase our neighbor's squirrel away from the bird feeders ... so funny to watch! They seem to be ground feeders also & often on the ground under the fruit trees searching for some 'edibles'!.

We are in the high desert at 2000 ft. !
rebeccah_2009
12 years ago
i had several brown thrashers here up until about 2 wks ago and I haven't seen them since. I don't know what happened to them
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
Original Author
12 years ago
vieja: A thrasher that chases squirrels? I could really use a few of your Curve-billed Thrashers to scare away the squirrel posse. I googled them, but it doesn't look like a bird that lives in the high desert in the southwest could be easily convinced to move to the southeast Massachusetts coast.

Claire (sigh)
vieja_gw
12 years ago
From the photo of the thrasher by claire, I guess the thrashers we have here in New Mexico are a different variety; ours here have a dusty brown body-no stripes, darker back & wings, but has the very distinctive orange ring in the eyes! These that began with just one pair a few years ago that foraged on the ground under our trees, now we have a couple dozen or more in our yard/area & have become very fearless around other birds as well as our four dogs! I can get right up to their nests & 'talk' to them & they show no fear of me (or the squirrel!) at all. Haven't figured out yet why the seemingly first pair built the 2-story apt. in the tree cactus!! Sure is a secure place to nest I admit!

We often get a new variety of birds for awhile, then they disappear only to have another variety come; the thrashers seem to have replaced the grackles pretty much the past two years in my yard.... yet the mourning doves seem here to stay!
gardener365
12 years ago
They were all over the ground today in IL after the torrential rains.

Dax

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