Wood Thrush continues

The continuing Wood Thrush at Palomar Mountain State Park was seen today by at least five of us. It didn’t make an appearance until about 9:20. We saw it not where expected near the drainage culvert but upslope and north of the Doane Valley Nature Trail at the rock crossing, almost dead opposite the direction we had been looking. Fortunately one of us was looking to the west or we might have missed it. We got closer looks as it foraged in shrubs on the north side of the stream. Sunlight filtered through and gave the bird’s upperparts (crown, nape and mantle) an impressive golden-orange glow. We got close looks at it with a Hermit Thrush and the larger size of the Wood Thrush was clearly evident. They seemed to be conscious of each other but there was no obvious interaction. The Hermit gave its typical chup-chup calls occasionally. We followed the Wood Thrush while it foraged in shrubs and I spent about 20 seconds seeing it in clear view from maybe 20 feet before it moved westward. I believe someone was photographing it.

As mentioned, the larger size of the Wood Thrush was clearly evident. The crown, nape,  and mantle were bright russet, much brighter than a Swainson’s Thrush. The face had an eyering, grayish auriculars and a prominent white malar streak. Throat and underparts were cold white with sizable and distinct dark spots. Leg color was pale. No vocalizations were heard by me.

Geoffrey L. Rogers

San Diego, CA