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| Scarlet Tanager (image credit: Matt Tillett) |
I love those moments when nature
surprises and amazes us. Recently we were out for an early morning
dog walk and I saw a burst of bright red high up in a tree. I was
excited to see that it was a Scarlet Tanager! I had never
seen one of these in "real life" so it was a bit of a thrill.
Although I've never spotted one bird watching before, it is hard to
identify the male Scarlet Tanager incorrectly. They are a sight with
their blazing red bodies and dark black wings.
Our morning walk takes us through an
unfragmented mixed evergreen and deciduous forest, which is perfect Scarlet Tanager habitat. You can find them in North America during the summer, but they migrate to South America for the winter
months. The female of the species is not as conspicuous as the male
with yellow-green feathers and dark wings. The tanager feeds mostly
on insects and some berries. They are often difficult to spot because
they spend a lot of time high in the tree canopy.
It must be an exceptionally active time
of year for these birds, because low and behold I saw another a few
days later while driving some back roads not far from my home. My
husband saw another in a different nearby location, and a friend saw
another one within the same week! Pretty amazing!
We were excited to add another bird to
our bird list. We like to keep track by adding them to our list on
www.ebird.org, a site run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and
Audubon. After adding a bird to our account we always check to see
where else it has been spotted. If it is something that is difficult
to spot, like the tanager, it is exciting to see if others have seen
and reported it, or if you have been the first. We found that there
have been many of these beautiful birds spotted in our area.
Not all birds are as easily identified
as this one. If you spot a bird that you are unsure of, you can try
to find it in a field guide, or use one of several online or app
options. Cornell's All About Birds website is one of my favorites
because they have lots of information, recordings of bird calls, etc.
Another that is helpful in identification is Whatbird.com. If you are looking for an identification app,
you might try Cornell's "Merlin". Merlin asks you several questions
about the bird's size, shape, color and behavior and then generates
some possible matches with images. This app gets its information from
eBird, so if no one has submitted any data about a particular bird in
your area, then you might not see it listed from your description.
If you like birds you might want to
check out some of my other posts about birds and nature:
Have had an exciting bird watch lately?
Comment below!
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