No doubt helping them along in their population rejuvenation is the wealth of squirrels in our area. The drop in the hawk population had made it easier for squirrels to overpopulate. Perhaps that is changing. Perhaps owing to the name, it seemed unusual to see so many hermits socializing. As it was my first sighting of this bird, I expected to see a solitary fellow quietly pecking in the underbrush.
Thrushes generally gather in flocks to migrate.
They fly at night when they are heading south. I could not find any information specifically on flocking of hermit thrushes, which are usually loners, especially in winter. It covers only ten common birds. The chapter on blue jays is wonderful, dealing with their habit of hiding seed over a wide area, their unusual face markings that distinguish each bird, and the makeup of their families. Foreigners are taken with the color, design and size of this bird that we too often overlook because it is common and, yes, noisy.