Louisiana Waterthrush
(Seiurus motacilla)

One early morning several years ago, I was on the back porch pondering great thoughts. That is hard to do for a retired biology professor! A small bird was foraging along the watercourse leading into our pond. It was so neat the way the bird would flip it’s tail as it made its way down into the waterfall. I hurriedly got the good wife so we could share the experience. Throughout our marriage it has been great to be able to share and appreciate the small wonders that nature provide. After contacting the bird field guides, we decided that it was a Louisiana Waterthrush.

The Louisiana Waterthrush is not a thrush at all, but belongs to the wood-warbler family. The genus and species name of this bird mean "tail-wagger." This is a reference to its habit of flipping its tail up and down while on the ground or singing on a tree branch. This warbler is known for its vocal abilities and its rapid foraging style.

This is a small bird with a bold white-eye stripe and longish, pink legs. It has dark olive-brown upper parts and white under parts. The breast, belly and flanks have dark streaking.

The Louisiana Waterthrush diet is made up of mostly aquatic insects and invertebrates. It also takes small flying insects, crustaceans, mollusks, earthworms and even small fish and amphibians. It forages among the cracks and crevices of the streamside rocks and roots. It will forage on debris floating or submerged in the water as well.

I took this photo several weeks ago as the bird decided to have a meeting with the atrium door. During its recovery, I had the opportunity to take several great shots of this beast. It recovered and flew away probably wondering what had hit him!