Hi Folks,
My name is Vera. I’m a varied thrush. You may think I look a lot like Roberta the robin. She’s my cousin.
Here’s Roberta the robin this spring, looking a bit ruffled up against the wind.
Roberta came down from the hills with her friends and family last week and so did all my varied thrush friends. We’d been in the conifers in the hills, picking at berries and bugs, but then the snow came and covered all our food.
So we huddled in the woods until the worst of the weather blew over and then found out where Roberta had gone. Well, we all congregated at Anneli’s house and at some of her neighbours’ too. The bare patches of dirt had bugs and worms we could pick at, and the houses along this road had a lot of mountain ash trees growing, so we ate some of those red berries they grow.
It feels like snow will fall again,
Although we birds prefer the rain,
I’m eating berries from the trees,
Though some are icy from the freeze.
When bare spots popped up through the snow,
My friends and I knew where to go,
We found some tiny bugs to eat,
The little spider was a treat.
The yard across the street has shrubs,
We hide in bushes eating grubs,
When rays of sun warm up the lawn,
A worm that peeks out will be gone.
The mountain ash’s berries fall
The sun ferments them one and all,
My cousin ate more than a few,
And then into a window flew.
Yes, life is hard these winter days,
But it is just a passing phase,
With winter solstice we will find,
That happy days aren’t far behind.
December 12, 2022 at 9:22 pm
I love this, Anneli! ❤️☺️
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December 12, 2022 at 9:36 pm
Thank you, John. That makes me happy.
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December 13, 2022 at 8:32 am
Wonderful! ☺️
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December 12, 2022 at 9:51 pm
Through poetry and fantastic imagery, you put yourself into the shoes of your feathery friends and report how the world looks and feels from their perspective. Einfach wunderbar!!!
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December 12, 2022 at 9:58 pm
Vielen Dank, Peter. I do love to imagine what the animals are thinking. It comes from my mother. She always pretended to know what the animals and birds were saying and she’d point it out. I remember her saying, “Listen! That bird is calling your teacher’s name. It’s saying, ‘Fräulein Lierow.'” But it came out sounding like “Fräun Lierow.” Still, it blew me away – how could my mother know what the birds were saying. She did that kind of thing all the time. Lots of fun.
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December 12, 2022 at 9:55 pm
Such a lovely post, Anneli. Beautiful photos and poem.
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December 12, 2022 at 9:58 pm
Aw, thanks, Lynette. I love my birds.
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December 12, 2022 at 11:37 pm
Beautiful!
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December 13, 2022 at 7:41 am
Tnx, DK. I love the colours on the varied thrush.
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December 12, 2022 at 11:44 pm
I love your bird pictures and the poem a lot!
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December 13, 2022 at 7:41 am
Thank you, Ursula. I know you’re doing your bit to look after the birds on your side of the world, too.
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December 13, 2022 at 1:38 am
Such sweet photos, Anneli!
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December 13, 2022 at 7:51 am
Thank you, Jill. I like it when the birds sit still long enough for a good picture. Doesn’t always happen.
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December 13, 2022 at 2:35 am
Fantastic, Anneli!
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December 13, 2022 at 7:41 am
Thanks a lot, Grant.
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December 13, 2022 at 3:49 am
Das finde ich sehr schön und hoffe, dass Vera noch genug Futter findet.
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December 13, 2022 at 7:43 am
They’re very adaptable and so they eat what they can find. I like that they eat spiders (even though we don’t have many of them active just now).
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December 13, 2022 at 9:02 am
Nice to see some insects still around!
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December 13, 2022 at 9:33 am
That’s what the birds tell me too.
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December 13, 2022 at 2:02 pm
How good that you understand their language 🤗
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December 13, 2022 at 2:04 pm
LOL. Yes, I learned it when I was very young.
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December 13, 2022 at 2:05 pm
😍😊
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December 13, 2022 at 5:24 am
Watching birds is always a joy. It is hard not to feel empathy when the tough weather arrives. I often wonder how the birds that over winter survive and how we humans would do under such circumstances. Have a great day Anneli. Allan
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December 13, 2022 at 7:46 am
They are amazingly resourceful, and yet so fragile. But for little hummingbirds to survive in this bitter cold blast really amazes me. The thrushes, being mainly insect eaters switch to berries and so they manage to survive. I doubt if many people would be able to manage under these conditions. We’d have to get smart really fast.
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December 13, 2022 at 5:25 am
I’ve never seen a varied thrush before. What a beautiful little bird. I enjoyed your photos and poem. Very nice!
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December 13, 2022 at 7:47 am
Thanks so much, Belinda. I could send a varied thrush your way and you could send me a cardinal to look at. That would be a fair trade, I think.
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December 13, 2022 at 1:40 pm
Wouldn’t that be nice 😊
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December 13, 2022 at 2:02 pm
Sure would!
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December 13, 2022 at 10:10 am
Hello, Vera! I bet Anneli will take good care of you this winter.
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December 13, 2022 at 2:11 pm
I’ll do my best.
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December 13, 2022 at 10:26 am
What are those berries, anyway? I think we have the same ones here. One tree is bursting with them. Can humans consume them?
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December 13, 2022 at 2:09 pm
Found this: The seeds of mountain ash berries contain a cyanogenic glycoside called prunasin, which can release a potentially deadly cyanide compound. European elderberries contain a similar compound, which is why they’re always heated before consuming.
I’ll pass on them.
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December 13, 2022 at 10:29 am
Aww. What a beautiful bird with a poem in tribute!
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December 13, 2022 at 2:06 pm
Tnx, Luanne.
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December 15, 2022 at 2:16 pm
Another poem for your upcoming bird/animal book collection. Yay! And now I know why I was confused, seeing a robin the other day. Must have been a varied thrush (and sad about flying into the window…) xo
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December 15, 2022 at 3:25 pm
I tried to nurse it back to health but at least it didn’t die out in the cold.
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December 16, 2022 at 4:40 am
❤
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December 18, 2022 at 6:50 am
Delightful!
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December 18, 2022 at 7:10 am
It’s a great day when a varied thrush comes to your backyard. What a treat to see Vera, Anneli, and to hear of her travels.
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December 18, 2022 at 9:09 am
I’m always happy to see them arrive.
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December 18, 2022 at 8:00 am
“My cousin ate more than a few,
And then into a window flew.”
Oh dear. That’s what happens when you drink and fly. I’m so excited that in a few days the light will begin its return. Thanks for helping the birds through the winter snows, Anneli. Beautiful photos.
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December 18, 2022 at 9:08 am
I’ve been waiting for the day when the earth stops tilting away from the sun and begins its comeback. Something to look forward to. Tnx 4 your visit, D.
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December 31, 2022 at 5:54 am
Quite the testament to nature’s perseverance!
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