About Me
Hello! I'm Brownie, a little hermit thrush who loves flying and singing! This is my blog!
Image provided by Wikipedia
First Post!
Hello! I have a confession. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fly...
A little background on me, I’m the oldest hatchling of my nest. Typically, the incubation period of hermit thrushes is 12 days, but I hatched in 10 days! Even though I knew what I was doing, hatching is incredibly scary. It was a surprise for my parents, but they welcomed it! After I hatched, I started helping my mom gather herbs on the ground. I couldn’t fly yet, but our nest is on the ground, so I could follow my mom on foot to our gathering site. While gathering herbs, I saw other hermit thrushes on nearby branches singing our melodic tune without a care in the world. Even my mom would occasionally fly to retrieve a faraway berry or insect. Once my siblings hatched, I consistently imagined what our first flight would be like. How nice the wind would feel under our wings as we soared into the sky, or how many patterns the four of us could make in the sky. My mom told me that typically hermit thrushes can fly about 12 days after they hatch, so I waited with bated breath. Every sunrise before returning to the nest, I would add a tally on a nearby tree to count the number of days left until I could fly. On the 12th day, I was so excited that I was perched in the tree before anyone else. This was before I knew my dreams would be instantly crushed. My siblings and I all readied ourselves; we all jumped at the same time. As quickly as I jumped, I fell. Thankfully, my mom caught me, I landed fine, but I was so distraught. Just like that, my dreams were CRUSHED.
Five days later, I still can't fly. I don't think I'll ever get off the ground.
Tips for fall migration!
Hello! It’s been a while since I last wrote in this blog. A small update for those who read my previous post: I can fly now.
Everyone always praises me for how quickly I’m able to fly through our pathways or asks me for tips on how to best gather food in our resting spots. So, I decided to make this short blog post full of tips for fall migration.
How to best gather food
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Don’t rely on humans.
Some of our fellow birds rely on human feeders. Do not follow their example! Humans only provide seeds or vegetables in their yards. Instead, focus on searching the forest floors for food. You’ll find more natural and nourishing choices there, even if some options look or smell appealing in human spaces.
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Gather near bushes or logs.
Although insects can be found anywhere on the forest floor, they are most prevalent near big green bushes or big abandoned logs. For bushes, every time I quiver my feet near their ground, I always manage to gather a feast of insects. On the other hand, the insects near logs are itchy, but they provide a good snack to give u energy to continue gathering.
How to fly quickly and safely
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Avoid loud things
In a human cluster, there are always a bunch of things making too much noise. Although some of these human machines might be safe, try to avoid all of the ones that make noise. You never know which ones are safe or not, so it’s better to avoid all of them. Because it could be a harmless song machine, but it could be a death trap!
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Don’t fly near human habitats.
During our migration, humans always have these bright lights shining. Avoid them! Although I know that they are very distracting with their bright, shiny colors, they are very dangerous. You might think they are inviting us in, but they are not! I repeat, they are not inviting us into their habitats! They have a transparent field outside of their habitats to keep us out, so they steer clear of their nests! Try to only rely on natural light from the sky and avoid those shiny human lights!
Speaking of, I must end this blog post here, as I see one of my flock mates approaching a human habitat. It’s her first time migrating, so she doesn’t know the dangers, so I must guide her back to safety. Please remember to follow my tips if you want an efficient and safe migration this fall!
Farewell
Hello! For everyone who reads this blog, I have bad news: the author of this blog has sadly passed away. I will be sharing some of the details of their death to help prevent similar accidents in the future.
A small background on me, I am one of their flock mates who had to witness the event that led to his passing. As I was perched in a tree, I saw the youngest member of our flock flying towards a human habitat. I could see why she would approach the habitat as it was covered in bright orange and purple lights; however, as a flock, we have a rule to never approach human habitats. As I was about to fly to guide her back, I saw Brownie flying down to guide her. In a split second, after telling her to move, I saw him slam into the transparent screen covering the human's habitat and fall onto the ground. The entire flock rushed down to the ground to try and save him, but it was already too late. The force of the hit was too strong, so there was no way for him to recover from the impact. So let this serve as a cautionary tale to avoid human habitats in the future, so you don’t meet the same fate as Brownie. In case any human reads this blog, please put patterns on your transparent barriers, so our fellow birds don’t meet the same fate as Brownie.