Buzzy bird call

[adamschneider]

I've heard this same sound several times this summer: on Mt. Hood, in the Olympics, on Mt. Rainier. It's a high-pitched "buzz," about 1 second long, that fades in and out and comes in all different frequencies. I don't even know whether it's a bird or an insect.

I finally recorded some audio at Rainier this past Tuesday, and then I edited down the file to just four of the buzzes; originally they were 7-10 seconds apart.

https://youtu.be/-TY1nOxcQWY

[kaltbluter]

Could it be a varied thrush?

[adamschneider]

Could it be a varied thrush?

That sure sounds like a match. The weird thing is that I've only very rarely seen thrushes while hiking.

[miah66]

Wow Adam! You're such an ace at bio ID's, I figured you would know this one! It is indeed the call of the varied thrush. They like to bounce around in the understory of the forest. They are easy to mistake for robins since they look similar from a distance. I sometimes see them hopping away from me on the trail, reluctant to take flight like most birds quickly do.

[kaltbluter]

olderthanIusedtobe gave me some education on varied thrushes over here.

Cool TR, lots of great pictures. Your bird is a varied thrush, closely related to a robin but much less frequently seen. You've probably heard them before though. They have kind of a droning tone, I call them the one-note bird.

[bobcat]

Most definitely the varied thrush. They will be on almost any hike in the deep woods, flitting about darkly under the canopy. They usually don't call when you are watching them, so it's difficult to associate the sound with a corporeal being.

[miah66]

Last week the wife and I became seperated on the trail. I didn't know if she was ahead of me or behind me. I blew my whistle and then I heard thrushes responding. It was very confusing.

[BurnsideBob]

Varied thrush. You may see them in your back yard as they move down in the fall!! They don't do their monotone call at that time tho--probably a nesting/territory behavior.

I have a row of blue berries netted--a female varied thrush snuck in to snack about June 20. My house is at the transition between valley floor and foothills--the property next door has 'old growth' doug fir/oregon white oak where I hear their calls early Spring. Anyhow, that she turned up in my blueberries says they may be around at low elevations if the surroundings are right.

As often as you hear them, you hardly ever see them.

[forester]

Last week the wife and I became seperated on the trail. I didn't know if she was ahead of me or behind me. I blew my whistle and then I heard thrushes responding. It was very confusing.

I had this happen last year in a difficult off-trail area where people typically get lost. Thought for sure it was the whistle of someone in need of help down in a tiny creek. After ~15 minutes, all I ever heard where the whistles, so I figured it was some bird.