Today the leaf mulch under the garden Cedar was being worked on opposite
sides by 3 Towhees and 2 Varied thrushes. The rest of the yard was under 6
inches of snow. The birds all slowly moved toward each other until a thrush
and towhee were about a foot apart. The bigger thrush grabbed a beakful of
material and turned and tossed it in the direction of the Towhee, who bowed
down and spread its tail, showing the white. There was a brief standoff and
the Towhee hopped back the direction it had come from. The Thrushes slowly
moved into the area the Towhees had worked, forcing the smaller birds to
keep moving back until they ran out of open ground. With their backs to the
snow I thought there might be a rumble but the Thrushes moved back the other
way and they all continuing flipping leaves. Heavy competition for snow free
spots on a day like today.

Rob Sandelin
Naturalist, Writer, Teacher
Snohomish