Hermit Thrush (Catharus Guttatus) Julie A

Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) Julie A. Craves

Crane Creek State Park, Ottawa Co., OH 5/1/2008 © Darlene Friedman This species sponsored by Martha Collins. (Click to view a comparison of Atlas I to II)

Native American legend has it that birds Payne (1983) also noted summer residency in the northern two-thirds of the state. Not much received their songs based on how high they has changed since then. Hermit Thrushes are flew, with the bird that reached the highest point most common in the UP and the NLP, to about being awarded the most beautiful song. This 44° N latitude. The distribution was very was how the Hermit Thrush obtained its superb similar in both MBBA I and MBBA II. Perhaps melody – except that this goal was achieved by the most notable change was the increase in the stealing a ride on the back of an eagle. number of records of Hermit Thrushes in the Returning to earth, the Hermit Thrush felt SLP, although none were assigned a level higher guilty, and retreated into the deep woods to live than possible. a hermit’s life, singing his incredible song.

A southern shift in the nesting distribution of Indeed, this retiring bird is seen less frequently Hermit Thrushes has been detected elsewhere in than would be expected given its large range the region. Ontario’s second Breeding Bird and abundance. The Hermit Thrush is one of Atlas found that the Hermit Thrush had the most widely distributed migratory birds in significantly increased its distribution since the North America, breeding over much of Canada completion of the first Atlas 20 years and the western and northeastern U.S. A hardy previously, except in the southwestern region species, it is the only Catharus thrush that which is largely agricultural (Friesen 2007). In winters mostly in the United States (Jones and the rest of southern Ontario, the nesting range of Donovan 1996). A few individuals winter in the Hermit Thrush expanded south and east, northern states, including Michigan. partly due to maturation of pine stands and

reversion of farmland to forest. Forest Distribution maturation might also be a factor in the Hermit Thrushes nest in a wide variety of increasing observations of Hermit Thrushes in forested habitats, in Michigan favoring dry the SLP of Michigan. coniferous forest and mesic mixed forests. A century ago, Barrows (1912) noted the species Likewise, Hermit Thrushes were detected in as a common breeding resident in the UP, only only five blocks during Ohio’s first Atlas rarely nesting in the SLP. Wood (1951) and

(Peterjohn and Rice 1991). Yet, in the first Conservation Needs three years of Ohio’s second Atlas effort, they Hermit Thrushes are fairly wide-ranging in their were detected in a total of 27 blocks and choice of nesting habitat, breeding in a variety confirmed in seven (OBBA 2009, data of coniferous or mixed forests. They also favor provisional). These records mostly represent internal edges such as those created by slowly increasing populations of thrushes found disturbance and some types of logging. These in mesic hemlock forests in several parts of the factors should have a positive influence on the state where they have been found in small persistence of Hermit Thrushes in Michigan, at numbers for many years (Peterjohn and Rice least in the short term. However, long-range 1991). habitat suitability models based on several climate change scenarios predict a strong range In contrast, Hermit Thrushes are fairly common contraction in the eastern U.S. and near- breeders in northern Wisconsin, again mostly extirpation in the NLP (Matthews et al. 2007). north of 44 or 45° N latitude, but there are very A secure future for this retiring bird with a song few breeding records from the southern part of that Bent (1949) said "steals upon the sense of the state (Van Stappen 2006). They were not an appreciative listener like the quiet beauty of a reported breeding in Indiana or Illinois (Castrale sunset" should not be taken for granted. et al. 1998, Kleen et al. 2004, BBA Explorer 2009).

Breeding Biology Hermit Thrushes place open-cup nests on the ground or low in a tree or shrub; the latter is more common west of the Rocky Mountains. Nest concealment by vegetation is important in nesting success as depredation is the most common cause of nest failure (Flaspohler and Temple 2000). This species is sometimes double-brooded, especially if the first nesting attempt fails (Jones and Donovan 1996).

Abundance and Population Trends (Click to view trends from the BBS) BBS trends indicate significant increases of a little over 1% annually in the Midwest (USFWS Region 3) and nearly 3% annually in Michigan since MBBA I. There was a small increase in the number of townships in which Hermit Thrushes were found between MBBA I and MBBA II. In Ontario, Hermit Thrush populations have remained stable, according to BBS trends, and Ontario’s second Breeding Bird Atlas indicated that this species is still scarce and local in southwestern Ontario, probably due to the region’s lack of substantial forest cover (Friesen 2007).

Literature Cited Matthews, S.N., L.R. Iverson, A.M. Prasad, A.M., and M.P. Peters. 2007. A Climate Barrows, W,B. 1912. Michigan Bird Life. Change Atlas for 147 Bird Species of the Special Bulletin. Michigan Agricultural Eastern United States (database). Northern College. Lansing, MI. Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Bent, A.C. 1949. Life histories of North Delaware, Ohio. American Thrushes, Kinglets, and their . allies. U.S. National Museum Bulletin No. Accessed 13 Feb 2009. 196. Washington, D.C., USA. Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas II [OBBA]. 2009. Breeding Bird Atlas Explorer (online resource). Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 2009. U.S. Geological Survey Patuxent . Accessed 2 Feb 2009. Biological Information Infrastructure. Payne, R.B. 1983. A Distributional Checklist . Interim of the Birds of Michigan. MP 164. results used with permission. University of Michigan Museum of Castrale, J.S., E.M. Hopkins, and C.E. Keller. Zoology. Ann Arbor, MI. 1998. Atlas of Breeding Birds of Indiana. Peterjohn, B.G., and D.L. Rice. 1991. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas. Ohio Department Division of Fish and Wildlife, Nongame and of Natural Resources. Columbus, OH. Endangered Wildlife Program. Indianapolis, Van Stappen, J. Hermit Thrush. 2006. In IN. Cutright, N.J., B.R. Harriman, and R.W. Flaspohler, D.J., and S.A. Temple. 2000. Howe (eds.). 2006. Atlas of the Breeding Relationship between nest success and Birds of Wisconsin. Wisconsin Society for concealment in two ground-nesting Ornithology. Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA. passerines. Journal of Field Ornithology Wood, N.A. 1951. The Birds of Michigan. MP 71:736-747. 75. University of Michigan Museum of Friesen, L. 2007. Hermit Thrush. In Cadman, Zoology. Ann Arbor, MI. M.D., D.A. Sutherland, G.G. Beck, D. Lepage, and A.R. Couturier, (eds.). 2007 Suggested Citation Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, 2001-2005. Bird Studies Canada, Craves, J. 2010. Hermit Thrush (Catharus Environment Canada, Ontario Field guttatus). In Chartier, A.T., J.J. Baldy, and Ornithologists, Ontario Ministry of Natural J.M. Brenneman (eds.). 2010. The Second Resources, and Ontario Nature. Toronto, Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas. Kalamazoo Ontario, Canada. Nature Center. Kalamazoo, MI. Accessed Jones, P.W., and T.M. Donovan. Hermit Thrush online at: . North America, No. 708. Poole, A. and F. Gill, editors. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Kleen V.M., L. Cordle, and R.A. Montgomery. 2004. The Illinois Breeding Bird Atlas. Illinois Natural History Survey, Special Publication No. 26. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois. USA.