Spotted Mistletoe Berry Eating Mountain Bird

One of the most common birds found here in SEAK and in the Pacific NW is the Varied Thrush, a close relative to another common bird, the American Robin.  Of all the birds found in the temperate jungles of SEAK, I think the Varied Thrush is the most representative of this primeval rainforest.
The song of a Varied Thrush isn't so much a song as it is an audible sketching of the mysterious and brooding beauty of this wilderness coast.  The song consists of burry whistles and trills spaced widely apart that compliment the hanging lichens, the dense stands of wild trees, and give voice to the spirit of this dark and intimidating forest.  The Varied Thrush's song fits this forest like the fog which so often lazily traverses the canopy and maybe that is the best way to describe it - the Varied Thrush's song is beautiful in the way that fog wrapping wraithing through an ancient forest is beautiful.  The song is sad and solemn sounding, lonely in its slow rhythm but always pleasing to hear.  It is an introspective song, a song of contemplation, a song of inner tranquility.  I can think of no other sound from no other animal that fits this ecology so perfectly.

Unfortunately, these are the best photos I have to offer of the subject of this post.  These birds tend to fly away when a person gets close and are usually hidden high up in a lichen shrouded tree so I haven't been very successful in convincing one of them to pose for photos.  The personality of these birds fits the nature of their song - they don't show off, they don't draw attention to themselves, they don't feel the need to impress.  Even if they could, I doubt these birds would partake in social media and let their egos run rabid in our unfortunate culture of "ME".

I don't know about anyone else, but I see a somewhat sinister smiling jack o'lantern in the black and orange markings in the above photo.

This suet feeder was the bait that brought this guy in close enough and long enough for me to get some adequate photos through my bedroom window.  This bird must be claiming the area around me as its territory as he has become a regular in my yard and the surrounding trees and provides me with some beautiful morning music that blends nicely with the sounds of the small creek flowing nearby.  The Varied Thrush song goes perfectly with the music of a small flowing creek in the way that the call of an owl goes with a quiet nighttime forest.

Oh, one last thing regarding the title of this post.  The scientific name of the Varied Thrush is Ixoreus naevius and I had thought that I had read somewhere that this name meant "spotted mistletoe berry eating mountain bird" but now I can't verify that.  Even if this isn't true, it is still appropriate and fitting and is a much more interesting name than Varied Thrush.

Pretty Boy

One of my coworker buddies has a very photogenic dog who posed briefly for me in the back of his truck.

Spring continues to spring here with daffodils and crocuses blooming in yards, rhubarb beginning to show itself, and a few sightings of bears roaming about after the winter sleep.  April has become a little rainy which is disappointing after all those weeks of sunshine but the rain is also very much needed as the lake that powers our hydroelectric plant is extremely low as is the town's reservoir.  There is some new snow falling high in the mountains as well adding at least a little more to the snowpack which is important to provide a constant steady flow of water throughout the summer.  April showers bring May flowers I guess but I'm still pulling for the Sun to come back!

Wrangell's annual Birdfest is approaching at the end of the month and with it the usual photography contest.  Unless I get some better photos between now and then, here are my entries this year.

The first two are a type of sandpiper called Dunlins which are a migratory shorebird that is a common traveler here in the spring.  The next two are of a Western Sandpiper which is probably the most common migratory shorebird on the Stikine River delta.  These guys are small but numerous and travel in flocks of hundreds and thousands that are mesmerizing to watch as they dodge and wheel through the sky.  

The last photo is obviously of a Bald Eagle which was perched in a tree above the body of a dead sea lion lodged by the river current against some logs.