Scarlet Tanagers often appear in southern Ontario in mid-May. The males are spectacular.
Females are greenish yellow.
This morning, before our walk near the Guild Inn, a walker brought me a paper bag with this within:
Sad. Such a beautiful bird. This is a female which is indicated by the gray underside of the tail. At this time of year, the scarlet males have moulted and look like the females but lack the underside gray tail.
It is difficult to know what caused the death – perhaps natural causes, perhaps flying into a window.
Something good may come of this death. The bird is now in my freezer and I will contact bird artist Barry Kent MacKay to see if he would like it as a model for a future artwork.
I have made many posts of Barry’s fine work in the Friends of Miles section of this website.
Other birds:
Some botany:
Raccoon:
Today’s groups:
8am:
11:30:
MAILBOX
Talk about your knotty pine …
NATURE QUOTE
“It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.” — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Miles Hearn