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Swainson's Thrush, Woodland Singer Transcript-196
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Swainson's Thrush, Woodland Singer
BirdNote from Seattle Audubon.
[Song of the Swainson’s Thrush]
This is a sound you may carry with you into sleep, like the sensation of a gentle swell after a day on the open water. Listen quietly in late spring in the evergreen forests of the Puget Lowlands, and you are likely to hear the melodious, spiraling song of the Swainson's Thrush.
[Song of the Swainson’s Thrush]
Having once heard its flutelike song, you will not forget it, and may wonder why its maker seems so late in arriving here. Robins, another member of the thrush family, have made their presence known since March, but the smaller Swainson's Thrush does not arrive until mid-May.
In fact, early March finds these secretive, bright-eyed singers just departing their wintering grounds in Mexico and South America, including Amazonian Ecuador. They travel at night, covering up to 230 miles in some eight hours of flying. To replenish themselves from the rigors of their journey, they must stop to feed during the day. When do they sleep? How long could we survive the demands of such a life?
And starting in mid-August, they turn again south—but not before bestowing upon us the innocent and free wealth of their song.
[Song of the Swainson’s Thrush]
Birds reveal much about the beauty and complexity of nature. Be still, and you’ll be rewarded for watching and listening. I’m Frank Corrado for Seattle Audubon.
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Written by Todd Peterson.
Song of the Swainson’s Thrush provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Recorded by G.A. Keller.
Ambient sounds provided by Kessler Productions.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© Seattle Audubon 06/27/05
ID#062705SWTHKPLU
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