Brown Thrasher Singing
A swarm of Black Vultures slowly swirled in the distance, in a big open blue sky, with high, thin veils of white clouds around ten o’clock this morning. A solitary Turkey Vulture tilted low overhead. It was a peaceful morning, clear and cool, with the songs and calls of several birds, including most of the usual suspects. Pine Warblers and Eastern Phoebes sang, and Carolina Wrens, Northern Cardinals and Tufted Titmice. A scattering of American Robins fed in yards with Yellow-rumped Warblers and Chipping Sparrows. Pairs of Eastern Bluebirds flashed their colors. The zhrees and mews of Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches filled patches of trees.
And somewhere high up in a scrubby patch of water oaks, privet and withered vines, a Brown Thrasher sang.
Almost a week ago, I heard the first tentative notes of a Brown Thrasher coming from a much lower spot, hidden in the hollies, gardenias and other shrubs around the entrance to our subdivision. Its notes were hesitant and widely spaced, and it fell silent when I stopped to listen.
Today, the song was full, with paired notes flowing, though still a little rough around the edges, and the singer was not yet sitting up in the top of a tree in the open where I could see it.