[EBB Sightings] Thrushed with Success

   Although Sylvia Sykora was the first to report this species from the Oakland Hills, I saw my first Varied Thrush of the season up at Huckleberry Preserve this week. It was a brightly plumaged male perched in a madrone, taking a break from the multi-species avian feeding frenzy. The acres of ripe huckleberries currently hanging in heavy panicles feed a variety of wild creatures, from the birds to the foxes to the feral pigs.
 
At the park entrance, I spotted a hermit thrush in the trail, its bright, reddish tail in contrast to its duller back. Even the robins were handsome in the Autumn light. Above me a flock of over fifty ravens circled and cawed, laying claim to this little slice of avian paradise. Their brothers and sisters also laid claim to the com towers, driving the eagles off to find another perch. Scanning the row of power towers stringing along the distant ranchland, I spotted the hulking form of an eagle along one of the uppermost struts. 
 
Along the lower trail, a winter wren darted out from a heap of decaying forget-me-nots (a lovely when flowering but otherwise obnoxious invasive plant). Its tiny, quick, gray-brown form was like a mouse, or a wraith, or a bit of proof for spontaneous generation. An inexperienced Stellar?s jay did a squeaky imitation of a red-tailed hawk, reminding me of the old joke, ?How do you get to Carnegie Hall?? Practice, practice, practice. 
 
The lure of the huckleberries was irresistible, and I stopped to eat my fill. While I plucked, I spotted the blue feather of a jay sticking upright upon the ground nearby. Looking a bit closer, I realized that it was still attached to the bird. In fact, two Stellar?s jays fed alongside of me, gleaning their meal from the groundfall of ripe berries. They were my feathered brethren of the berry bonanza. Even the humans can turn feral, in this magical place.
 
Debbie Viess
Oakland