TINY BUT TOUGH: At dusk in early January, Powell River Orphaned Wildlife Society president Merrilee Prior was called out to rescue a little bird brought in by the cat. Upon arrival, she was speechless to find a hermit thrush within the rescue box.
A tiny cousin of our robin, the hermit thrush, like its name suggests, is rarely seen. It endured a course of antibiotics until it joined the winter collection of small birds out on the porch at PROWLS.
Even though it was tiny, the hermit thrush was not shy and managed to get its share of the food. The bird was released near where it was found three weeks later.
East of the Rocky Mountains, the hermit thrush usually nests on the ground. In the west, it is more likely to nest in trees.