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New Feeder Bird- Scarlet Tanager, yard stuff



Fri. afternoon, @6:00 PM, I saw a Tanager sitting on the baffle by the 
hanging suet cage.  I've had Summer Tanagers fairly regularly on the suet, 
but thought I saw dark wings, so got out binocs and saw a first male Scarlet 
Tanager (maybe...see below), who was now on the wire cage eating suet.  I've 
never had either Tanager as feeder birds till this year.

The first thing I noticed was that he was much more orange in color than the 
adult male that's in the yard.  Got to view him from underneath as he clung 
to the cage, and he had some yellow mottling.
While writing this I looked in my Sibley and other guides to read 
descriptions of plumages. Sibley and Peterson both show an orange variant of 
a male Scarlet Tanager, so now I'm not sure what this guy was, first spring 
or Orange variant....

By the way, one of the female Summer Tanagers that I desribed in an earlier 
post is definetly a red morph female, she's seen regularly.  She's the first 
reddish female that I've ever seen, that's why I'm mentioning her. 

Bluebirds are nesting in nestbox for the 2nd time this season,  4 eggs this 
time, last time were 5, and no Cowbird eggs, though have  @ 5 Cowbirds this 
year.

Lastly, an almost-feeder bird:  a Great-crested Flycatcher perched on the 
feeder pole and proceeded to flycatch from it for awhile.  Was very 
aggressive towards the other birds. 



Shelley Theye

Shelley Theye
North Chatham County, NC
Psbmt@aol.com