Summer Tanager (male)

Spring migration is well underway, which means I’ve been spending lots of time outdoors with my camera, binoculars, and Merlin app trying to locate warblers and other spring migrants in the woods behind my home. The Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are also back at my feeders. They are traveling from wintering grounds in Central/South America and the Caribbean to breeding grounds in the northern US and Canada. I look forward to seeing them every year.

In addition to the grosbeaks, over the past few days, I’ve spotted two Black-throated Blue Warblers, an American Redstart, a Red-eyed Vireo, and a Gray Catbird. One day last week, a Scarlet Tanager flew into my backyard, which was a real surprise. (It was serendipitous that I was standing outside with my camera when it happened.) And this morning, I got a visit from a Summer Tanager.

A story about that encounter…Summer Tanagers are spring and summer residents in North Carolina. Males are bright red, and females are yellow. They’re beautiful birds, and they’re quite vocal, but they are notoriously difficult to find because they tend to stay high up in the canopy where they feed on insects. Yesterday afternoon when I was doing some backyard birding, I heard a Summer Tanager singing, and I couldn’t find it. I spent a long time looking for it, too, and ended up walking away with little more than a sore neck and feelings of defeat.

Later that afternoon, I was telling my neighbor about my frustrations (she likes Summer Tanagers and always tries to spot them, like I do), and she said, “Be patient. When you’re not looking for it, you’ll find it.”

This morning, I was having coffee in the garden with my camera, binoculars, and Merlin app, and I thought, “I’m not going to drive myself crazy looking for tanagers this morning. If one flies right up to me, then I’ll get a photograph.”

And I’ll be damned…

I was sitting quietly, sipping my coffee when a bright red bird flew into a tree directly across the yard from me at the edge of the woods. It was eye-level with me, and I assumed it was a cardinal en route to the feeder. But I grabbed my binoculars just to be sure. And it was a Summer Tanager. He perched for maybe 45 seconds and then flew off. When you’re not looking for it, you’ll find it, indeed.

Breeding season is underway, as well, and I am seeing lots of juveniles at my feeders, most, if not all, still being fed by their parents. I mentioned in my last photography post that there was a bluebirds’ nest in the siding of my home. The day after I published that post, at least one of the baby bluebirds fledged (there were two).

I still see “Baby Blue” at the feeder with its parents. It’s getting bluer, and its tail is getting a lot longer (note how tiny the tail is in the photo above). I’m not certain what happened to the other nestling, though. Perhaps it’s around, and I just haven’t seen it. All I can say for certain is, I checked the nest, and it’s empty.

Also–and most importantly–I finally got my planting done! I planted a rather colorful variety of flowers this year, as well as a small vegetable and herb garden. I still have a few more native flowering plants to get, probably purple coneflowers. I’ve had success with them in the past, and the goldfinches really seem to like them.

And lastly…there is a family of Red Foxes in the neighborhood with six kits! They appear to be living in a culvert pipe in my neighbor’s front yard.

I hope you enjoy this collection of photographs.