Many have been lamenting the lack of Wood Thrush song in their
neighborhoods.  In my corner of suburbia, I'm lamenting the opposite
problem.  A Wood Thrush started singing in my backyard about ten days
ago and has been going just about non-stop, dawn-til-dusk, since last
Friday.  You may think this is a good thing.  It isn't.

Remember, birds sing to defend their territories and to advertise for a
mate.  If there is no need to do either, they can be remarkably quiet
while going about their lives.  When a patch of habitat is small enough
to support only one territory and the songster sings all the way through
June there is a very good chance that he is still looking for a mate and
not nesting.  I don't know how we go about understanding the results of
the second atlas since we cannot correct for this systematic --  in that
atlas, a singing bird indicates a probable breeder but in my experience,
song is a good indicator of nesting **only** if there are others of the
same species singing nearby.

Returning to my back yard; every year since the middle of the second
atlas, I have heard my local Wood Thrush sing for a couple of days in
spring and a couple of days in early July.  Every July I smiled because
I believe that song told me the Wood Thrush was still there and was
starting a second brood.  The birds hung around all summer but with only
one territory in the area, silence is the best policy.  Cowbirds are
rare here -- I only see them a couple of times each year -- so chances
are many of these nests were successful.

To me, this year's abundance of song is announcing that Wood Thrushes no
longer nest in my neighborhood.  Though I like to hear the Wood Thrush
sing, I'd be happier if he were here and silent.

Dave
-- 
David Mozurkewich
Seabrook, PG MD