Date: 1/12/25 11:11 pm From: Blythe Horman via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Robins and varied thrush
Oops, that’s Gary Bletsch. Please blame insomnia for my mistake, and thanks
to the person who corrected me!
Blythe Horman, Lynnwood
On Sun, Jan 12, 2025 at 6:02 PM Blythe Horman <blythe.horman...>
wrote:
> Thanks everyone for your research on this, especially Robert Bletsch for
> looking at historical records in books. I have seen varied thrushes very
> occasionally during the spring and summer, and my conclusion parallels
> Robert’s direct quotes. That is, Varied Thrushes nested in the Puget Sound
> Lowlands until urbanization destroyed their habitat. Then, like many
> animals, they were forced to breed in more inaccessible, mountainous areas.
> Also like many animals, in the last 10-25 years, some individuals have
> begun to return to the lowlands to attempt breeding. How successful this
> will be remains to be seen. Are there banding records available?
>
> I think this recolonization of suburban areas is not an uncommon
> phenomenon. That’s why we now have human-wildlife interaction experts, in
> the hopes of resolving conflicts with particularly charismatic or feared
> animals such as cougars, bears, and coyotes without the old method of
> simply killing the animal.
>
> As another example of a large, noticeable animal recolonizing degraded
> habitat, look at the humpback whale in Puget Sound. Unheard of when I moved
> here in 1991, they are now common enough to be feature prominently in whale
> watching tour advertising.
>
> I assume many birds (and other small native wildlife) are attempting to
> recolonize historical lowland breeding areas, but since they’re not
> particularly charismatic or usually problematic to non-birders, they don’t
> get much, if any, mainstream notice. They fly under under the radar, as it
> were.
>
>
>
