Thoughts of Rough-legged Hawk and Northern Shrike, or maybe a King Eider, were on my mind as I ventured down to Wells this morning. Beginning at Wells Beach, then birding around Webhannet Marsh and Wells Harbor, I pulled into Community Park (on Harbor Road) at about 10:00, and had yet to write anything in my notebook. The usual cast of characters was around, of course, but the unexpected had yet to surface.

That soon changed. In the woods, I began walking towards a calling Yellow-rumped Warbler (which, up to know, was my only noteworthy species of the day) when a thrush flushed in front of me. Hermit Thrush is the only likely candidate to be in Maine in winter, and with the mild weather until very recently, a handful have in fact been lingering.

However, my impression of this bird was that it was a bit larger than a Hermit, and in the quick look that I got, I thought the entire back, head, wings, and tail were bright rufous. A second look confirmed that, and when it turned around, I noted the heavy, dark spots on the entire white underside of the bird, from throat to belly. Brown-streaked white cheek, white eyering, bicolored (yellow at the base, black on top and at the tip) bill. What the heck?

My mental field guide flipped through the pages of European thrushes, like Fieldfare and Song Thrush, but this bird was clearly of the domestic variety – a ridiculously out-of-season Wood Thrush!

I tried to get some photos, but I only managed one. Kind of.

What? Can't see a bird? Try this one:

No? I'll try and help, despite my rudimentary Photoshop skills.

OK, this is NOT my proudest digi-binning (taking photos with a digital camera held up to binoculars), but I THINK it's good enough for documentation. The top arrow on the left points to the white-eye ring (the bird is facing away). The bottom arrow points to the spotted breast, and the arrow on the right points to the rich, rusty-brown on the back of the head. The bottom arrow points to the white undertail coverts. Well, I tried! But this bird did not want to come out to have its picture taken today, and I got too chilled to sit on the frozen marsh edge waiting for it any longer.

I do not know if there are any other winter records of this Neotropical migrant in Maine in winter, but if there are, there can’t be many – this species winters in Central and South America! I’m sure that I have never seen a Wood Thrush on the same day - or even in the same month? – let alone in the same bush! This may just have been the LAST species that I was thinking of for today!

The rest of the day’s outing (Drake’s Island, Laudholm Farms, Parson’s Beach, Kennebunk Beach) was uneventful – except for the thrilling discovery of a great sub-sandwich at Anello’s Pastries on Route 1 in Wells. Heck, a great sub in Maine might be as rare as a January Wood Thrush!

And, while driving back to the store, I finally saw my Rough-legged Hawk – soaring over the highway in South Portland. So, today’s day list included: Rough-legged Hawk, Snow Bunting, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Wood Thrush. This is why we go birding, even in sub-zero wind chills!