I’ve been wishing for the reappearance of this bird for weeks now. Which—when it showed up this morning— made me realize it’s arguably my favorite Utah bird so far.
A plain, erect-perching, small-billed thrush that lives up in the mountains and comes down a ways to occupy berry-rich junipers in winter. Its most alluring quality, to me, is its clear, repeated, one-note territorial call—which occurs about every two seconds. For some reason it really thrills me. And I heard it this morning just as Jack and I started up the trail. So I gave chase.
Didn’t get a video of it calling (which I’d hoped for), but at least it posed for a photo.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 11:15 p.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up the mountain.
1. Black-billed Magpie**
2. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay*
3. House Finch** (v)
4. Townsend’s Solitaire
5. Black-capped Chickadee**
6. Dark-eyed Junco
7. American Robin (v)
Elsewhere
7. Song Sparrow (v)
8. House Sparrow
9. European Starling
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American robin, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, dark-eyed junco, European starling, house finch, house sparrow, song sparrow, Townsend’s solitaire, Woodhouse’s scrub-jay
