Monday, May 25, 2015

Summer tanager

I saw a red bird fly across the back yard and land in one of my pecan trees that didn't quite fly like or look like a cardinal.  So, I got my binoculars and saw that it definitely wasn't a cardinal.  After some research in my bird books I find that it's a summer tanager.  This seems to be at the far northern edge of its range.
It is a pretty bird.  Actually more red than a cardinal because it is all red without the black markings on the face that the cardinal has.  Also doesn't have the crest.  I have seen it several times since and watched it singing.  Its song is actually rather familiar, so I presume its been around in past years but I didn't recognize it for what it was.

The female is a yellow color -- I saw a female singing in the top of one of my apple trees in the orchard.  The only down side of these birds is that their favorite food is bees and wasps.  Luckily, my bee yard is a quarter mile from my back yard where I am seeing those and I hope they haven't found the hives to make a feast.

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