Song thrush portrait

The thrushes are now feeding chicks, and there is a sense of urgency when they look for food. They would be shy when not breeding, but now they feed just by you, oblivious to their surroundings. This Song Thrush stood and run, alternatively, on the grass near me, when feeding.

Standing proud

And catching what it looks like a ground beetle larvae.

New year song thrush

The Song Thrush has a skulking, unassuming nature, not as bold as the Blackbird or Mistle thrush, and much more cryptic than the first. During and after the summer moult it becomes almost invisible. But as the start of the year approaches males start to sing, and then they become bold and loud, choosing a prominent post, usually the topmost branches of a tree and delivering their clear, musical phrases, often including mimicry of other birds, and repeated a few times each in long sessions. I watched a male in the park yesterday for a while - I ended up getting neck ache!. The singing was punctuated with nervous glances up into the sky at the slightest disturbance, and I guess that singing makes males quite exposed and vulnerable to predation.
Can you spot the Song Thrush on the large Horse Chestnut?

January Chorus

There are a surprisingly high number of bird species that start singing in January. A handful of species can pretty much sing all through the winter: Robins, Collared Doves, Woodpigeons and, surprisingly, Great Tits and Blue Tits. Some mild winters the Song Thrush will join them. Although the days are still cold and short, light levels are increasing by the day and this set birds into 'get ready for breeding' mood. One after the other birds join the chorus.
 In the last two weeks, Coal Tits, Song Thrushes, Stock Doves, Starlings (above), Dunnocks, Goldfinches and Chaffinches have, ones boldly, others more tentatively, taken positions and started to practice their singing. Even Sparrows sitting under the eaves have been doing their chirping.

Robin singing

Song Thrush

Singing in the rain

If there is a group of birds who love bad weather, that's the thrushes. I guess there is a plentiful supply of earthworms in wet soil and they have a full stomach and a lot of time on their wings. It's been raining non-stop all day. This morning, a Blackbird sang softly from a tree. And, after the whole wet day, a Song Thrush joyfully delivered his repeated bold phrases on top of a bare tree this evening. Yesterday I heard the first song of the Song Thrush of the year. Today, two individuals sang from their prominent posts about one mile apart.

Despite the awful weather, the first signs of spring are here with us!