Hermit thrushes in the garden

In winters past, it seemed a rarity to spot a hermit thrush in our garden.

It felt lucky to spot one or two of them.

But now that our patio is full of native shrubs that are quite lush after winter rains early last month, there are more of these birds visiting. Sometimes they are foraging in groups of three or four.

The hermit thrush in the photo above is on a post in one of the garden beds, waiting for its turn in the bird bath.

This hermit thrush was feasting on little green larvae it found on a Blue Bush Lupine plant.

To the left of the bird is a smaller bird bath that the thrush had just visited for a drink of water.