![\"Photo](\"http:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/ScarletTanager7onNaturalCrooksDotCom.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nScarlet Tanagers Prefer Tall Large Trees for Nests<\/h2>\n
I heard this Scarlet Tanager for several minutes before I saw it. The call was totally unfamiliar to me. In fact, at first I wasn’t certain what I was hearing. I thought it was a bird, but it sounded a tiny bit like an amphibian. I wondered what Gray Tree Frogs sound like when they call from tree trunks. It didn’t sound like a Chipmunk but it was almost as steadily calling as one. I kept looking up and around trying to figure out where the source of the sound was.<\/p>\n
And there it was–right overhead!<\/p>\n
The bird was keeping a sharp lookout for competition while he also searched for food among the leaves and twigs of a large maple. He called almost constantly and spent time both looking at the tree and looking at its surroundings for any other Tanagers.<\/p>\n I had seen many Trilliums turning pink with age, like this one, during my walk. The spring wildflowers were finishing as the maples and other trees were leafing out. The Tanager I saw was probably planning to stay there for the summer to nest.<\/p>\n At times, he was too close to get a good photo! I could actually see the details of his neck feathers through my lens. (Unlike binoculars at 600 mm lens does not provide much “magnification.”)<\/p>\n His beak is messy here because he just finished eating a rather repulsive-looking bug. I know this is the male, by the way, by his bright scarlet red. Female Scarlet Tanagers are more of a dull yellow.<\/p>\n This is not just garden phlox. These are some flowers of Wild Blue Phlox. This part of the Bruce Trail still has some and they were quite lovely. Notice there are 5 petals, not the 4 of the more common alien Dame’s Rocket.<\/p>\n Keeping an eye on things!<\/p>\n These Green Violets are in bud. Although they are not common in my parts of Ontario, they were very common along this stretch of trail.<\/p>\n For those of you who think a bright scarlet bird might be too conspicuous in the forest, I offer this image. It’s amazing how easily these birds can disappear from sight.<\/p>\n Luckily for me, this Tanager was willing to perch in the open for a few minutes.<\/p>\n The second time I saw these lovely white violets, I knew to check the back of the petals. The pale mauve or purple colour on the back means these are Canada Violets.<\/p>\n These wild Red Columbines weren’t quite as vivid a colour as the Tanager but they still were lovely to find.<\/p>\n Just after these last photos, the male Tanager saw the female move, flying deeper into the forest from a perch a few trees away. He quickly sped after her, away from me.<\/p>\n All in all, it was a great walk along the Bruce Trail. And that’s not even counting the Yellow-throated Vireo I saw at the start!<\/p>\n Related Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n Join In<\/strong><\/p>\n Do you ever find unexpected treasures when out on a walk looking for something quite different? Please share your experience with a comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sometimes when you wander out to admire the spring wildflowers you find a bonus bird. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[776,777,775,778],"class_list":["post-7269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-focus","tag-green-violet","tag-red-columbine","tag-scarlet-tanager","tag-wild-blue-phlox"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7269"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7278,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7269\/revisions\/7278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nWild Blue Phlox and Green Violets Share the Forest with Scarlet Tanagers<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nIsn’t a Bright Red Bird Easy to See in a Leafy Green Forest?<\/h2>\n
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