The amazing journeys of Swainson's Thrushes!

A very young Swainson's Thrush! 

We have been so fortunate to catch a lot of Swainson’s thrushes at the banding station lately. Swainson’s thrushes are one of my favorites of the songbirds that migrate north to nest in the  boreal forest. Their flute-like song wafting through the new foliage in May is a balm to the ears after a long northern winter. As I stand on my porch in the June evenings, I can usually hear three different males counter-calling to claim their nesting territories. I grieve a little when the songs end in early July. The male thrush no longer needs to maintain a territory once the families are roaming freely through the forest. Soft “wicking” calls can now be heard as the families keep in touch as they forage. 

Now that August has arrived, young Swainson’s thrushes are on their own. In just a short time, they’ve had to learn how to fly, how to avoid predators, and forage on their own. Many are also blundering into a new obstacle- mist nets strung in their paths. The banding team at ASI collects information about the birds and fits them with a leg band that they’ll carry for the rest of their lives. 

 

Soon, the biggest challenge of their lives will be upon them. These young thrushes that have only ever known the boreal forest will soon be finding their way, purely by instinct to Costa Rica and other areas in Central America. They’ll cross mountains, cities, farm lands and deserts- each with their own challenges. Once on their wintering grounds, young thrushes will adapt to a whole new environment in the rain forest and stay there for the next 7 months. If these young birds avoid all the dangers of migration, we’ll be lucky enough to recapture some of the returning birds at the banding station next May!

~Laurel

P.S. We did not operate the station today due to substandard weather conditions.