Varied Thrush

One of the first birdwatching books we bought was this Sibley Guide. We picked it up our local Wild Birds Unlimited store, which is about 20 miles away. It's been a pretty helpful guide, at least for confirming what species of bird we are trying to identify.

I really liked this book for its cover-- a picture of the Varied Thrush. Such a striking and wildly colorful bird. That picture definitely made me want to see one. Last month when JSK was here, she looked out at the pond and said, "Hey, check out that bird." Oh yeah. There it was, a Varied Thrush taking a lovely bath. I grabbed the camera and tried a few shots, but everything came out blurry and indistinct. I was disappointed.

Monday morning, there was a bird in one of our border trees, silhouetted against the heavy grey northwest sky. It was easy enough to dismiss as a common robin, but there was just something distinct about it that made me grab the binoculars. There it was again: a Varied Thrush. It flew from the bare branches of the Alder onto our Golden Delicious apple tree. While it quietly pecked at these yellow, dew-covered apples, I was able to click a few shots.
As pretty as a picture.