Hi Tweets,

I don't think it's so much a case of American Robins and Varied Thrushes
going missing so much as, once the southbound migrations are over,
concentrating into large foraging flocks and marauding around looking for
berry trees and shrubs and orchards with windfall fruit lying around. The
result is local abundances and wide stretches without so much as a glimpse
of either thrush. Usually winter robins move around in large pure flocks,
but sometimes small numbers of Varied Thrushes mixed in, and occasionally
I've seen winter flocks (~20-30) of Varied Thrushes moving around over the
Kitsilano neighborhood I live in, especially during periods after a heavy
(well, heavy for Vancouver BC, smug grin) snowfall.

And is it the locals ones which move down once the snows arrive up top of
local mountains? Maybe the ones we see in summer migrate S out the area and
it's northern migrants occupying the mountains until the snows.

Flight ID of Varied Thrush? Proportionately shorter-tailed and
broader-winged, with about equal projection of head and tail, sort of
meadowlark trying to be a thrush, usually obvious in mixed flock. When I see
that silhouette differing from the robins, I'm assuming they're Varied; they
could be Dusky Thrushes. '-)

Michael Price We aren't flying...we're falling with style!
Vancouver BC Canada -Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story
mprice at mindlink.net