Exploring Nature: Varied Thrush

Jesse Huth, a noted Texas birder and tour leader, recently shared a video of a trip he took from his home in Wimberley to Surfside on the Texas coast. His quest was to see one special bird, a varied thrush.

Jesse had seen the bird previously, but never in Texas, so he drove the 234 miles to Surfside with high expectations. And those expectations were met when he spotted the bird in a residential area and got some excellent video footage to share with stay-at-home folks like me.

I admire Jesse’s persistence in seeking out that varied thrush and I’m glad his long trek ended in success.

Not that a varied thrush is especially exotic. It is a plump-bellied little bird with a large rounded head, straight bill and long legs. It is a handsome species, but not really spectacular by any means.

If you want to attract a varied thrush to your property, leave the leaf litter on the ground since it prefers a messy area rather than a sterile, wellmowed yard. I don’t know if I would drive 234 miles to photograph a varied thrush, but I have been known to travel a bit to see certain birds. I happily flew to Africa to see carmine bee-eaters, and I traveled to both Panama and Peru looking for a male cock-of-the-rock. I’ll gladly leave my yard a bit unkempt in hopes a varied thrush might drop by. I’ve never been a big fan of raking leaves anyway.

One final note: My resident black-chinned hummingbird has departed for points south. It’s been two weeks since I saw her, so I finally took down my sugar-water feeder. I look forward to her return next March.