Hi Linda A fledgling should completely shed its spots by the time it is 90 days old. I had one last year that completed the molt by the time she was 75 days. My birds hang around all winter and the adult male behaves just as yours does. He pecks at anyone, including the adult female, that dares try to eat before he is finished. Today is a sad day here. Papa has begun chasing the fledglings away prior to the start of this year's nesting season. He is guarding the nest box and the meal worm feeder and even a bowl of blueberries I put out for them. They apparently are hungry and every now and then one will sneak into the cage feeder where the meal worms are. Here is what happened when the adult female tried it a little while ago. Finally, she broke away with him pecking at her all the way out of the cage. As she flew up on the top of the feeder, he tried to get her again.. But the ironic thing is that in 2 or 3 weeks he will be bringing her meal worms. Hope you continue to feel stronger and have less pain. Dave

Thanks everyone. I must say I have been taking tons and tons of pictures when the babies come. I think there are three boys and a girl, but I am not sure. I love watching the six of them fly in. They are not staying in our yard for the most part they are back by the field behind our property but they come to eat regularly and I love love love to watch them. Kenn, I just got an order from Southern Insecataries yesterday, I must say even though they are pricey this year they do have really good worms and I love to order one day and have them the next. I am so hoping Sunshine has some available soon though that DHL shipping from Georgia is ridiculous! Oh and I checked that Duncraft site and it told me they offered free shipping on your first order only. Donna

Rachel, Great pics and commentary. It's awfully nice of you to go slogging through the woods to capture these pics while I just sit back & enjoy! For some reason "my" Peewee has not returned for the last 2 years. I miss his plaintive pee-o-wee. They also have a lovely song but I would only hear it very early in the am, usually just before dawn. I saw a young thrasher yesterday with his stubby tail-so cute! Blue birds should fledge over Memorial Day weekend so maybe I'll get to see them. Chickadees fledged already & I'm not sure when the Tree swallows are due. They kept starting & stopping their nest & I lost track of when the eggs were laid! Thanks for the pics, Susan

This really has become the year of the thrashers. Per Donna's suggestion, I've been putting out C&S Peanut suet nuggets. I don't know if the thrashers eat it - I haven't seen it - but it's disappearing. There's plenty of other food around and insects too. My yard/garden is getting more and more overgrown so there are lots of hiding places for birds in shrubs and small trees. I'll walk by a shrub not noticing any birds and be startled by flight all around me. Good for the birds, not so good for the idea of a tidy garden. An adult has been seen brazenly foraging around most days, and yesterday I saw what I think are two juveniles calmly preening on the winterberry (the photos were taken from the kitchen window). So much for the "secretive" Brown Thrasher. Claire