Scarlet Tanagers arrive here just before the trees are fully in leaf and are a delight to see with their brilliant plumage.
On their breeding grounds, high in maples in June, they are surprisingly hard to find and are usually located only by song or calls.
By fall, much of their spring finery has been replaced by green and most pass by unnoticed, to winter in the tropical forests of South America.
MYSTERY BIRD
I will identify it at the end of the post.
Other birds:
MYSTERY BIRD
This Song Sparrow-looking bird has a yellowish eyebrow stripe. A Savannah Sparrow.
MAILBOX
Hi Miles,
This is the latest chapter in the ongoing saga of a fellow in Manhattan (a non-birder) whose small balcony became a nesting site for a pair of hawks this spring. Only one of the two chicks 🐣 survived, unfortunately, but the saga continues – and this instalment is pretty amusing.
NATURE POETRY
What can better please,
When your mind is well at ease,
Than a walk among the green fields in May
To see the verdure new,
And to hear the loud cuckoo,
While sunshine makes the whole world gay. – Charles Whitney Coombs (1859–1940)
Miles Hearn
What a stunningly gorgeous bird that Scarlet Tanager is! I’ll never forget seeing my first one, on one of your Rouge walks. The other birds here are also wonderful, of course. What an array! As for the “mystery bird”–well, I managed to guess “a variety of sparrow”, anyway. And yes, even while the parental concern was more than a little understandable. especially given the loss of a chick, the story of the camera was very amusing, Thanks, Miles!