Hermit Thrush

This guy - or gal - is my favorite Winter guest. Mostly I suppose because there's usually only one of him/her. I have seen two simultaneously once or twice in past years. Most of my other Winter feeder birds tend to come in droves, so this one is very special. Hermit thrushes nest way up north from here. The thrushes we have here in the Spring and Summer are the wood thrushes - which are currently down in Central America staying warm. 

There is a hermit thrush who is currently a patient at The Wildlife Center. I'm not sure what his issue was when he came in - window strike, probably - he's doing very well, but still has something of a wing droop. Which is to say, one of his wings isn't held as high as it should be when he's at rest on a perch. Which means it maybe hurts? But he flutters around his enclosure very competently, so he will hopefully be released before too long. At least in plenty of time to head back north for breeding season!

The extra is Cutie Pie the squirrel. Young enough to still have unnicked ears. I counted no fewer than SEVEN squirrels out front this morning trying to eat all the peanuts and sunflower seeds. The blue jays weren't letting them take over completely, but there was a fair amount of squabbling.