Varied Thrush

[foxglenlea]

All of a sudden the Varied Thrush are here! They are loving the suet which the flickers and songbirds have dropped onto the ground.

[marlene johnston]

Same here. Today is day 3 of the influx of Varied Thrush at Lardeau, Argenta and Cooper Creek at the north end of Kootenay Lake. 

Question, did they come downslope just after we got the first real low elevation snowfall, or are they coming from a little further south?

marlene at lardeau

On Feb 20, 2026, at 12:08 PM, foxglenlea <foxgl...@gmail.com> wrote:

<DSC_0123_2.jpeg>All of a sudden the Varied Thrush are here! They are loving the suet which the flickers and songbirds have dropped onto the ground.

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[Sachi Snively]

Same in the Queens Bay/Balfour area as I started seeing some around 10 days ago. I was always under the impression that like Robins many left and some stayed as we are close to the southeastern extent of their range. That said maybe that is changing?

I bet that Gary has a good handle on this. 

Sachi

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[mindobarbet]

FOY bird in Rosemont this morning too.

Chris 

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 20, 2026, at 1:16 PM, Sachi Snively <sach...@gmail.com> wrote:

Same in the Queens Bay/Balfour area as I started seeing some around 10 days ago. I was always under the impression that like Robins many left and some stayed as we are close to the southeastern extent of their range. That said maybe that is changing?

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[Gary Davidson]

I have had 1 or 2 Varied Thrushes in my yard since the end of December. But in the last few days that number has increased. A few minutes ago I counted 7 picking at seeds I had put out for the juncos. 

I have no hard evidence, but I have always thought that the usual annual influx into Nakusp was from upslope. However, in some years we have dozens and dozens around town, probably more than can be explained by downslope movement. I suspect it is a combination of both - a regular small downslope movement, sometimes augmented by southward movement from further north. As you can see, I'm firmly on the fence here!!

Gary

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[Sachi Snively]

I am with you on the fence too Gary :)

Thanks for you sharing your thoughts, I experience the same. We are in an interesting region where they could easily all be locals who never leave but they do disappear from most places during the winter. Even with all the big Robin flocks this winter I had’t spied many amongst them which I always find odd. Having them show up and be visible at this time of year is a real treat though!

Sachi

[Elaine M]

And my husband said that he saw a Veery in Nelson on Tuesday (Feb 17) in the alley between Third and Fourth, between Cottonwood and Davies.  It was with a flock of robins which took off, but the Veery stayed behind just sitting in a tree.

Elaine

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On Fri, Feb 20, 2026 at 12:08 PM foxglenlea <foxgl...@gmail.com> wrote:

All of a sudden the Varied Thrush are here! They are loving the suet which the flickers and songbirds have dropped onto the ground.

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