Brown Thrasher In The Garden

Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum). A visitor during the breeding season. A visitor that I really look forward to seeing, though that doesn’t happen often. These birds love hiding in dense cover and briar tangles, coming out to search on the ground for insects and other arthropods. They’ll also search in trees for fruits, seeds, and nuts, but their favored place seems to be on the ground which is where I see them most often.

The Brown Thrasher reminds me of one of my favorite birds, the Road Runner, state bird of New Mexico. Perhaps it’s because of the very long tail each of these birds has. But the Brown Thrasher does not go, “Meep meep!” Instead, a mimic, the male is quite the vocalist, singing an impressive repertoire of musical snippets, each repeated twice as he goes on, and on, filling the air with beauty.

Blue Jay

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata). Beautiful and exceptionally intelligent birds. They’re mimics. Included in their repertoire, are the calls of many hawks, particularly the Red-shouldered Hawk, and some owls. Predators that Blue Jays will avoid.

Males and females are alike except that males are a bit larger. They are monogamous, staying together for life. Both participate in nest building and raising their young, and have strong family bonds.

At your backyard feeder Blue Jays will eat most anything that you’ll put out for all the birds with the exception of Nyjer seed. I haven’t had my feeders out since late spring and plan to put them out tomorrow. I’m looking forward to seeing the Blue Jays that I’ve been hearing in the woods.