Wood Thrush

Have you had the luck to hear the flute-like, melodic song of our own Wood Thrush, a bird of the deep woods in the Eastern US? I was already planning to write this month’s Species of Concern piece about the Wood Thrush when I came across a film, The Nightingale’s Song, part of a series by Emergence Magazine. I highly recommend this look at one musician’s path honoring the nightingale—a bird whose legendary beautiful song recalls the haunting notes that, for me, signal Spring.

The habitat of the Wood Thrush, a migratory bird, is threatened on both ends of its long journey – in the eastern US where deep woods are disappearing and in the Yucatan and Central America. The Wood Thrush  population is considered “strongly decreasing,” as it faces steep declines and major threats. Other conservation threats include bright lights during spring and fall migrations.

Species of Concern

I’m writing this series of monthly pieces in anticipation of the publication of my first full-length poetry collection, entitled “Species of Concern,” which examines braided journeys of environmental and personal loss, and the accompanying processes of grasping and letting go. The book explores how grounding practices of mindfulness allow us to manage many species of concern—humans among them, both vulnerable and culpable.

The Wood Thrush holds a special place in my heart. I first heard it after moving out to the countryside in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in central Virginia, over 30 years ago. I wasn’t a birder then, but it was hard to miss the distinctive song of the Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina). I learned that one reason for the Wood Thrush ’s hauntingly melodic sound is that it has a double syrinx.

The Syrinx

The Cornell Lab Bird Academy article on Wood Thrush singing explains that in its final trill the Wood Thrush “uses both sides of its vocal organ, the syrinx.” This produces the rich double notes that form a slightly eerie series of chords. An article at the New Hampshire Audubon website notes that the syrinx allows for very complex songs that include “ventriloqual properties” such that portions of the song may sound as if they are coming from a different location. Now that’s one way to claim a lot of territory to impress a female or to fool a predator!

When the Wood Thrushes finally arrive in the Spring, by paying close attention, I can distinguish the songs of different birds. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology website confirms that they have individually-recognizable songs. Sometimes I jokingly give names to the birds gleefully announcing their territories in the woods all around my yard—there goes Bob, ah now I hear Fred. Another clue that they have arrived is their other distinctive sound – a whip-whip-whip or whut-whut-whut, considered a signal of agitation, or nest defense.

How Can You Help?

A) Maintain a bird-friendly garden or planter with locally-native plants (and trees if you have room) that host the soft-bodied caterpillars baby birds require.

B) Reduce light pollution by assessing your home lighting (or your apartment building or workplace) and replace/advocate to replace the lights with motion-sensing bulbs and downward-directed fixtures, and

C) In your area, help conservation organizations maintain unbroken woodlands.

Acknowledgement

Many thanks to local birder par excellence, Ezra Staengl, for permission to use his photo of the Wood Thrush. Find more of his work and writing at  birdsandbuds.com and flickr.