A Tale of Three Birds: Chapter One: the Mistle Thrush

I was out in the garden reading (Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl Woman, Other since you ask).  Absorbed, I hadn’t noticed, but suddenly I did…  A bird’s call – loud, imperious, by turns chiding, whistling, chirruping or tuneful.  And incessant.  A mistle thrush was responsible, and he wasn’t hard to find.  He had found a high perch, as he’s supposed to do, in the top branches of a copper beech.

Once noticed, he was impossible to ignore.  He called and he sang until after half past nine that night.  The next day he began at ten past four, as the sun was rising.  Since then, during daylight hours, he’s barely stopped.  Not for him a tea break or a spot of down-time.  He’s claimed his territory, and he’s not letting it go.

Today it’s raining for the first time in ages.  He’s still at it … and the video gives no idea at all of the volume of sound produced.

Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

56 thoughts on “A Tale of Three Birds: Chapter One: the Mistle Thrush”

  1. Well the sound recording may not have done the volume justice but I for one was delighted to learn what a mistle thrush sounds like. It sounds as if he woke you at 4.10am….! Great pictures too. I don’t know if we have any here in London.

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  4. Lovely. Bird calls, insects, the wind, and the rustling of the leaves…. all sounds of nature. I am glad you were distracted – I’ve been working at tuning in to the sounds of the earth and tuning out the sounds of man – it’s a challenge as we are so loud. We have rain this morning and I can hear the rain against the window and the roof. The dogs and I are enjoying a relaxing start to the day. Peace.

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  5. I was going to ask if the bird woke you up, but I see not. I am more of a night owl by nature. Funnily enough I was just reading how birds adjust their volumes to compensate for background noise, but it seems your chap has a broken volume control.

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  6. I wonder if we have them over here in the States. I’ll have to go research that. I think he’s kind of pretty. We have a little wren that sings, loudly, all day. She starts early too, but not till about 6 a.m.

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  9. How lovely. I often sit out on my patio (given up on the reading I just cannot seem to concentrate at the moment) listening to the birds coming in to the feeders. The chattering sparrows, the cheeping chaffinches, the quarrelsome goldfinches, the pure sound of a tiny wren and the calls of the tits. A blackbird has been visiting recently too, but sadly no thrushes, mistle or otherwise though I have seen one on a few occasions. The early morning dawn chorus is fabulous to hear, but I am usually still asleep then.

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    1. I normally enjoy listening to the chattering and singing of dozens of birds. But that mistle thrush. He has no manners. Luckily for him,. I’m quite fond of him anyway

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      3. I really don’t like them. If you put out food they bully their way through it, they are so heavy they trample down the soil or grass, they are sex maniacs and they make such a horrible noise.

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  11. One morning last week – early but not THAT early – I watched a thrush on the lawn. I can’t tell you what sort of thrush it was but I was delighted. I see them so rarely now. I seem to associate thrushes with my childhood – were they more common then I wonder? Your mistle sounds beautiful, and I love that gorgeous copper beech!

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    1. I think thrushes have been having a bit of a bad time, but locally, they seem a bit more common – or I’m getting more observant. The copper beech is indeed a true delight.

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  12. I wonder when he gets time to eat? He has a long day and is seems that you do too. Our cat Nina was most interested in the sound recording. The copper beech is indeed lovely.

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      2. Excellent! She’s a quick learner. It’s currently 9.20 p.m.. He’s still at it, having started at 4.10 a.m. Bit of a slacker today though. He took a long lunch break.

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      3. Good grief. I guess he earned his lunch break. And here the wood owls and the fiery-necked night jar have been most vocal tonight – perhaps the moon rising has something to do with it. Even the frogs are clicking away despite the cold and that rain is not imminent! It is now 10,45 pm here. I am trying to finish off my latest blog post!!

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  13. You’ve got poor Nina looking for the bird to stalk 😦 😦 It does seem a particularly noisy time of year for birds. Mostly finches here, but they’re very gobby! 🙂 🙂

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  14. Thrilling, absolutely thrilling, how lovely for you to hear. Haven’t seen or heard any thrushes for ages. When I told my father I had seen three or four thrushes together in my old Norfolk garden he informed me that they were actually fieldfares. Do you know if they have a lovely song like the mistle thrush?

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      1. Thanks for the link – I had done a quick Google and didn’t find that. Oh no, that’s quite a whiny ‘song’ – hands down the mistle thrush wins.

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  16. ooh I am not sure this is a Mistle Thrush. I think it is a Song Thursh both by its song and the shape of it. It is very lovely though whichever it is

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    2. I’m not an expert, so tried to do some homework. It was the comments about the mistle thrush favouring high branches and being incessant that made me plump for him, and I listened to recordings of both. I dunno … but you are by way of being an expert!

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      1. Can understand why you went for Mistle as the sound from those upper branches is phenomenal but MrB thinks Song too. Something about the shape of it . .. however the B household could be wrong!

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      2. I doubt it. Here Be Experts. Thank you. But as the word is in the title, I might just leave it as we’re not talking academia here. But thanks so much.

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  17. I love listening to any kind of thrush, be it Song or Mistle and at this time of year they start singing soooo early! I am currently sleeping in our spare bedroom which has thicker curtains and doesn’t get the early morning sun. I am sleeping a little better and longer and wake to the song of skylarks.

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