A New Bird in the Garden

A week or so ago, I saw a new bird in the garden. I had never seen that kind of bird before, and its call was something very unique. I didn’t think much of it until he returned this weekend and hopped all around where I was harvesting. I pulled out my cell phone and got a few pictures. Then I had to research what it was.

After researching it by main color and breast color, I narrowed it down to a couple of birds. When I saw what I thought it was, I confirmed it by its call. Who was my new visitor? A brown thrasher!

I first saw him hopping along the fence about three or four feet from me.

Brown thrasher on the fence

Brown thrashers belong to the same family as the mockingbird, which we have quite a few of. You can see the similarities in the shape of the body and tail. However, where the mockingbird is very gregarious – and even aggressive at times – the brown thrasher is shy and secretive, enjoying the shelter of bushes and leaf piles. During mating season (March through July), the male will often sing from a high perch.

I guess my visitor is not the typical thrasher. He hopped all around me, in the open, without the least bit of fear. See him in the bed beyond the tomatoes?

Brown thrasher in the garden

He was very vocal, too. I learned they have several calls, usually repeated two times each. For me, he sang his smack-smack call. (You can click here to hear all the different songs of the brown thrasher. The one I heard is the second one from the top.)

Before he flew into the crepe myrtle tree near my garden, he hopped on one of my tomato stakes.

Brown thrasher on a tomato stake

I hope he stays around my garden. It’d be great if he and a mate raised a family in my yard. We’ll see!

Have you ever seen a brown thrasher?