See You Next Year Hermit Thrushes

The Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) is one of five North American thrushes in the genus Catharus, and the only one that winters in the United States. We in the Blue Ridge Mountains in central Virginia are fortunate to have them as our residents during that time.

This one is enjoying the berries of Smooth Sumac in January.

And here, doing its impression of a 747 about to take off, a Hermit Thrush, in one of my favorite photographs, that I’ve taken over the years.

Good bye sweet Hermit Thrushes. Looking forward to see you in late autumn, next year.

Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.