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Bird of the Month Townsend's Solitaire is a gray, medium- sized thrush with a white eye ring. Its white outer tail feathers are prominent in flight and its upright posture and long tail when perched give it a long, slender appearance. The song is complex and finch-like, with short, rich warbles that change abruptly in pitch. Townsend's Solitaire eats insects and spiders during the breeding season and switches to fruit, especially juniper and other berries, during the non-breeding (winter) season. Townsend's Solitaires are year-round residents of mountains in the western U.S. and adjacent south-westernmost Canada and the Sierra Madre of Mexico. In summer, part of the population migrates north to the Canadian Rockies and Alaska, where they breed in coniferous forests. During the non-breeding (winter) season, part of the population migrates to lower elevations across almost the entire western half of the U.S. and north- central Mexico. Townsend's Solitaire breeds in our local mountains, so the wintering bird that was first spotted on Jan. 23 on Trail A and photographed on Feb. 4 at Veterans Park by Gerrie Karczynski may have bred nearby, such as around Big Bear Lake, or maybe in Alaska! Birding CLUB The rare White-throated Sparrow that first appeared at my feeder on Nov. 10 continued sporadically through this writing (Feb. 5). On Jan. 23, I spotted a Townsend's Solitaire on Trail A, a first record and Four Seasons species #123! During our bird walk on Feb. 4, the sun was shining and lots of birds were singing — it felt like the first day of spring in SoCal. It took longer than usual to cover Trails A and B because we were stopping so often to look at birds and we finished the morning with a whopping 27 species. The highlight was great looks at two and possibly three adult male Allen's Hummingbirds. Other highlights included Cedar Waxwings and a well camouflaged Great Horned Owl spotted by Kathy Hull. Later in the day, Gerrie Karczynski, Barbara Wasco and I spotted eight additional species, bringing the day's total to 35 species, a new record for a February bird walk! The highlight was Gerrie Karczynski's sighting and photographing of a Townsend's Solitaire at Veterans Park, almost certainly the same bird first spotted on Trail A on Jan. 23 (our Bird of the Month). Other highlights included Dark-eyed Juncos, Lawrence's Goldfinches, and Pine Siskins. ~ Steve Edelman, steve.h.edelman@ gmail.com FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MARCH 2023 39 Townsend's Solitaire perched in a tree at Veterans Park (upper Trail C) on Feb. 4. Photo by Club member Gerrie Karczynski Adult male Allen's Hummingbird, one of at least two spotted on Trail A on Feb. 4. Photo by Club member Kathy Burgis Northern Flicker (upper left) and American Robin seen during our Feb. 4 bird walk. Photo by Club member Gerrie Karczynski

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