Preview 4- Hermit thrush
Hermit thrush found on Iona Island during the Fall of 2024
Many of the Preview postings leading up to the official start of NatDigital 2025 have centered around the signs of our approaching winter season. The Hermit Thrush is actually the only thrush likely to be seen in North America during the winter months.
The bird seen in this photograph exhibited typical behavior of this species in that it perched low in the brush and flicked its wings. The Hermit thrush can survive through the cold winter months by feeding on insects in the leaf letter found on the ground, When snow covers the ground, however, he can do quite well feeding on berries found in nearby shrubs and trees.
Tech Tip - Most of my suggestions regarding techniques used to capture the images used in NatDigital have been quite rudimentary in the “Preview” blog posts leading up to the official kickoff on January 1. This suggestion follows that pattern. Quite simply the advice is “Be Patient!” For this image, I had scanned the area where I was sitting quietly using a free app called “Merlin”. “Merlin will listen for and record the songs of any bird in the immediate area and let you know what it heard. By employing this app, I knew that there was a Hermit thrush close by and I waited to see any movement in the nearby brush. Sure enough, up popped the thrush affording me an opportunity to capture the image seen above. You can download “Merlin” for free on your iPhone or Android phone.
