Thursday 2 December 2010: Song Thrush In The Snow

This Arctic weather that has hit us, has changed the dynamics of the garden.

Just a couple of weeks ago I pretty much had all the finches and tits covered, as you can see from previous blips.

(Blue Tit)
(Goldfinch)
(Long Tailed Tits)
(Coal Tit)

Now that the snow has arrived, I am inundated with thrushes.

I have four resident Starlings, a couple of blackbirds and one of the most beautiful speckled breasts you will see, a couple of Song Thrushes.

I have watched them up in the woods over the past few weeks, picking the berries off the hawthorn trees. I knew it was only a matter of time before they wandered their way down to the feeding station to see what was on offer.

I wouldn't be surprised if there were a couple of Mistle Thrushes up there too. I have seen a couple of Fieldfare a few weeks back. Now they would be a real bonus for my twitch off with my brother!
twitch off with my brother!
ID-ing Mistle Thrushes and Song Thrushes can be a bit tricky, as they are incredibly similar birds.

The main difference is size. The Mistle Thrush is slightly larger than a blackbird, and has white under-wings, with slightly more speckled breast; the Song Thrush, is the same size or smaller, than a blackbird.

The size thing is always great, if you happen to have a handy blackbird to compare too .. how fortuitous I was then that this rejected blip from yesterday happened.

Song Thrush .. Q.E.D.!

• DSLR-A200:
• f/5.6:
• 1/160":
• 300mm:
• ISO 400

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