Visiting varied thrush a rare sight in Santa Fe

Posted: Wednesday, January 14, 2015 9:30 pm

By Anne Schmauss

For The New Mexican 

There has been a verified report of an unusual (for this area) varied thrush on the northwestern edge of Santa Fe.

He’s tough to miss. At more than 9 inches long, he’s almost as big as his robin cousin. He sports black and orange markings that cause him to stand out from the crowd.

He’s been hanging out in a customer’s backyard for a couple of weeks drinking from their birdbath and feasting on their juniper berries.

This thrush is native to California in the winter and spends summers as far north as Alaska. New Mexico should not even be on this bird’s radar screen.

So, why is he here?

I posed this question to birder and naturalist John Schaust and this is his response:

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