Wood Thrush Watch
Help us learn more about the Wood Thrush by participating in Wood Thrush Watch. Your participation will help Georgia Audubon gain a better understand of Wood Thrush distribution and breeding success in our region. We are encouraging people to go birding during Wood Thrush migration and breeding season, from April to October. Your birding efforts should target under-birded Wood Thrush habitat in addition to well known hotspots. We will use these findings to help guide future habitat restoration projects, and shape our conservation programs going forward.
Wood Thrush Watch Program Objectives
1. Determine important migratory stopover locations for Wood Thrush throughout Georgia
2. Understand the density of our region’s Wood Thrush population
3. Find Wood Thrushes breeding sites throughout our region.
4. Measure Wood Thrush breeding success in the region.
5. Engage Georgia's birding community and increase awareness about Wood Thrush conservation
2. Understand the density of our region’s Wood Thrush population
3. Find Wood Thrushes breeding sites throughout our region.
4. Measure Wood Thrush breeding success in the region.
5. Engage Georgia's birding community and increase awareness about Wood Thrush conservation
Wood Thrush Watch FACT SHEET
Do I have to search for Wood Thrushes only in Atlanta? - No! We want to know about where Wood Thrushes are being seen across Georgia.
How do I tell the Wood Thrush apart from all of those other brown thrushes? - Check out our Wood Thrush Identification Guide and quiz to brush up on your ID skills for Wood Thrush Watch
Where I should look for Wood Thrushes? - Anywhere! We especially want data from under-birded areas with few checklist submissions. Your local park is a great place to start. Wood Thrushes prefer forested habitat with large trees over 50 feet tall, understory saplings, and an open forest floor with leaf litter.
What does a Wood Thrush nest look like? - Wood Thrushes typically nest in the fork of a sapling or shrub where foliage provides both shade and cover. The females weave their nests out of stems, leaves, dead grass, and even paper and plastic. These unusual nesting materials may seem like they would draw attention to the nest, but researchers believe that they break up the outline of the nest, making it harder for predators to detect.
If I don’t see any Wood Thrushes, should I still submit my checklist? - Yes! It is helpful to know what areas Wood Thrushes are not using, too. All birds are important, and submitting your checklist to eBird helps researchers around the world learn about the other birds you saw.
How does this differ from normal birdwatching? - The only difference between participating in the Wood Thrush Watch and your normal birdwatching is that we are asking you to specifically look for the Wood Thrush, note any breeding behavior you see, and consider visiting places you may overlook. This will help us fill in the gaps on this charismatic species in our region.
How do I tell the Wood Thrush apart from all of those other brown thrushes? - Check out our Wood Thrush Identification Guide and quiz to brush up on your ID skills for Wood Thrush Watch
Where I should look for Wood Thrushes? - Anywhere! We especially want data from under-birded areas with few checklist submissions. Your local park is a great place to start. Wood Thrushes prefer forested habitat with large trees over 50 feet tall, understory saplings, and an open forest floor with leaf litter.
What does a Wood Thrush nest look like? - Wood Thrushes typically nest in the fork of a sapling or shrub where foliage provides both shade and cover. The females weave their nests out of stems, leaves, dead grass, and even paper and plastic. These unusual nesting materials may seem like they would draw attention to the nest, but researchers believe that they break up the outline of the nest, making it harder for predators to detect.
If I don’t see any Wood Thrushes, should I still submit my checklist? - Yes! It is helpful to know what areas Wood Thrushes are not using, too. All birds are important, and submitting your checklist to eBird helps researchers around the world learn about the other birds you saw.
How does this differ from normal birdwatching? - The only difference between participating in the Wood Thrush Watch and your normal birdwatching is that we are asking you to specifically look for the Wood Thrush, note any breeding behavior you see, and consider visiting places you may overlook. This will help us fill in the gaps on this charismatic species in our region.
Collecting Data
- Search for Wood Thrushes wherever you want throughout Georgia between April 1 and October 31. These birds typically prefer forested habitat, with large trees over 50 feet tall, understory saplings, and an open forest floor with leaf litter. Any local park with tree cover is worth checking. Birding in small areas can help us pinpoint specific habitat preferences, so nowhere is “not good enough” for a survey.
- Perform a count at each location to survey for Wood Thrushes. To perform the count, simply go birdwatching at your favorite local spot and record the number of individual Wood Thrushes you observe. If you are fairly sure you have seen the same bird twice, record it as one bird. Counts can be short or long in terms of both time and distance. Note any breeding behavior observed.
- Keep a complete species list during your count (OPTIONAL). This is optional, but keeping of a list of all species you can identify during your survey helps provide insight. Do not worry if you come across a bird you do not know.
- Record observations in the field. Include date, location, species, survey start time, survey duration, distance traveled. Temperature and weather condition data (e.g. 50F and sunny) are also helpful, but optional.
- Record any breeding-related behaviors observed (OPTIONAL). Recording breeding behavior helps us understand the timing of the breeding season and where birds are nesting. Behaviors associated with breeding include singing, carrying nest material, and building a nest, among others. We especially want behavior data for the Wood Thrush, but these data are helpful to researchers for all of the species on your checklist. See “submitting data” below for more information on how to report behavior and a full list of behaviors of interest.
Submit your data to eBird or to AAS.
Submitting Data
We will collect data for the Wood Thrush Watch primarily using eBird. If you are a new user, you will need to choose “Register as a new user” and create an account. If you prefer, you may also submit your data directly to AAS.
- Sign in to eBird and navigate to the “Submit Observations” tab at the top of the page.
- Enter your location.
- Enter your observation date.
- Select observation type.
- Enter “AAS Wood Thrush Watch 2018” into the comments box, along with any temperature and weather data you collected.
- Fill out the checklist and mark the number of each species you saw.
- Choose the correct breeding code for any breeding behavior observed if you are submitting breeding data.
- Confirm your results and submit your observations. Citizen science achieved!
- Please share your checklist with us! After submission, navigate to “Manage checklists,” choose share, and share with “atlantaaudubonsociety.”
Key Features of a Wood Thrush
Wood Thursh by Dan Vickers
- Rusty, reddish brown head, nape, and upper back
- White eye ring
- Streaked cheeks
- White underparts with bold, dark spots extending down to the belly
- Pinkish legs
- Flute-like "ee-oh-lay" call
How to tell a wood thrush from a.......
Wood Thrush Vs. Hermit thrush
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Hermit Thrush upperparts more brown. Note contrasting rufous tail and lack of bold spots extending to the belly. Time of year is also helpful in separating these two.
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Wood thrush vs. swainson's thrush
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Swainson’s Thrush has a very distinctive buffy eye ring, contrasted with the white eye ring of the Wood Thrush. Smaller spots than Wood Thrush primarily on chest and do not extend to the belly. Swainson’s also lacks streaked cheeks.
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Wood Thrush VS. Gray-cheeked Thrush
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Gray-cheeked Thrush lacks eye ring and has subtle gray streaking on the cheek. Upperparts much more brownish gray than Wood Thrush’s reddish brown.
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Wood thrush vs. veery
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Veery lacks spots on breast, streaked cheeks, and bold white eye ring.
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Wood thrush vs. brown thrasher
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The Brown Thrasher is closely related to the Northern Mockingbird and is similarly sized with a long tail. Overall, the Brown Thrasher is much larger than the Wood Thrush and has a more horizontal posture. Note wingbars on the thrasher, which the Wood Thrush lacks.
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Wood Thrush vs. Ovenbird
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Ovenbirds have a characteristic red crown bordered by a dark stripe on each side. The Ovenbird is a warbler that typically forages in the understory, whereas the Wood Thrush more often forages on the ground in the leaf litter.
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