Well, here we are again, in the middle of summer, and not a lot of birding going on here in Ohio. The weather has been cooler the last two weeks, which has been nice. But now we are in the hot summer month of August.
I've made a list of 37 available Ohio species I can get before the end of the year. Now it's just about getting out and ticking down these birds. I have not seen either species of Tanager's this year, can you believe that? So with the help of
ebrig.org, on July 20th at Horns Hill Park in Newark, Ohio, I was able to pinpoint a location for reliable Summer Tanager, and guess what? . . .
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| Male Summer Tanager |
BANG.
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| Is that a Cardinal that sounds like a Robin??? |
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| Just ate a wasp |
The only completely red bird in North America, the strawberry-colored
male Summer Tanager is an eye-catching sight against the green leaves of
the forest canopy. The mustard-yellow female is harder to spot, though
both sexes have a very distinctive chuckling call note. Fairly common
during the summer, these birds migrate as far as the middle of South
America each winter. All year long they specialize in catching bees and
wasps on the wing, somehow avoiding being stung by their catches. (Notice the bug limbs in his mouth).
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| Beautiful back shot |
The oldest Summer Tanager on record was at least 7 years, 11 months old
when it was captured and released by a Texas bird bander in 1986
So, there goes another one, now if I can just find that Scarlet Tanager, I'd be set. How funny, I saw a Western Tanager in Colorado in May, before either Ohio species.
Next up: I need Ohio FOYs!!!
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