An Elusive Hermit Thrush

A delightful discovery came the evening of December 9th when I reviewed photos taken that day at my peanut butter feeder. For fifteen consecutive days I had recorded a fairly predictable mix of species I had seen many times before. This time, I saw evidence of a Hermit Thrush -- a bird I hadn't observed at my feeders before. But I wasn't sure: the photo was a "midflight" image and terribly blurry. I determined to get a better picture. I tried three more days at the same feeder with no improvement, then at a nearby sunflower seed feeder where I thought I had seen the bird with my own eyes. I watched as often as I could and determined that my new friend was perching on the deck railing as a staging point before lunging at the feeder above. So, I pointed the BirdCam at that spot on the railing, convinced I now had the shot in hand. Only...after three days of work, I recorded nothing, as if the bird was a ghost. For the next three weeks I switched from the railing to the peanut butter feeder, getting a blurry image at best, and often nothing at all. Finally, after over a month of effort, I obtained my conclusive photograph. Hermit Thrush remains an elusive model. In several more attempts I've only once collected fair photos. But I can say that I have enjoyed this entertaining winter visitor with a hearty taste for peanut butter!