I noticed an absence of Wood Thrushes in the woods near my Rockville
residence as well.  A quick check of eBird data suggests the
possibility of a modest decline in Montgomery County compared to last
year.  Wood Thrushes per checklist in the county in 2009 vs. 2010 in
the following months were as follows:  April (decline from .14 birds
per checklist to .07); May (decline from 1.28 to 1.13), June (decline
from 1.59 to 1.49).  My impression is that they are in good numbers in
prime areas, but absent in marginal habitat.  EBird data doesn't show
a similarly consistent decline for Maryland as a whole, however.

Jim Moore
Rockville, MD
Please submit your bird observations to eBird.org!

On Sun, Jun 6, 2010 at 9:47 PM, Tony Heatwole <> wrote:
> Every year I've heard Wood Thrushes in the woods near my house (Damascus
> MD). They've been quite reliable - I usually hear the first one between
> April 24 and April 27. But, this year I haven't heard a single one. It might
> be my 67-year-old ears (but I seem to be able to hear the other "usual
> suspects") or are the numbers of Wood Thrushes down this year?
>
> Tony Heatwole
> Damascus, MD
>