Swainson’s Thrush Migrating Through

October 29, 2025

Leaving its breeding grounds of northern North America, from Alaska and Canada down the Rocky Mountains into parts of the northeastern United States. Now migrating through Virginia, a Swainson’s Thrush (Catharus ustulatus), on its way to its winter home in Mexico, Central America, or South America.

In the first image, notice the olive-brown of its back, and here, another view of the same Thrush showing off its speckled breast.

Still, a long way to go to get to that winter home.

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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.

2 thoughts on “Swainson’s Thrush Migrating Through”

    1. Hi Sharon! Hoping you are enjoying the changing of the seasons as much as I am. I received a bit of the rain that has been needed here just yesterday, making it a delight to bury things in the compost. How strange to appreciate such a small thing! It was so easy to plunge the shovel into the soil!
      So very glad you read my posts!
      Bren

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