Christmas Greetings from Rainbird
I’d like to take the opportunity to wish all the readers who come here over the next month or so a warm greeting. This image was taken during an unusually early snowstorm a couple of weeks ago. I photo-shopped it to make it look like a drawing. It ‘s a Varied Thrush.
Which reminds me of a question I often get when I’m giving a tour. Where did the Rainbird name come from? Well, it’s a name given to the Varied Thrush by some of the old time loggers around here. They called it the Rainbird because it always seems to show up around town when the winter rains start. This is because it is an altitudinal migrant. That is, it moves up and down the mountains in response to the seasons, rather than north and south. They get driven out of the higher elevations because the snow arrives and their food sources get buried. Lower down, it is raining and they can survive. But sometimes they get caught, as in this picture.
Anyway, Merry Christmas to all. I hope you all get a chance to enjoy some quality time with special friends and family.
Sandy McRuer