A flame-red mystery bird
September 2nd, 2009
The birding at Mud Lake yesterday morning can only be described as "epic." 41 species, 10 of which were migrant warblers.
Warblers:
That last was the most impressive hotspot. It was an area with lots of berries, though I don't know how many of the warblers took an interest in that (the finches and waxwings certainly did). They were packed in so tight they couldn't even coexist peaceably, they kept chasing each other around. It's a place most serious birders don't usually go (typically they just bird the ridge area, maybe some of the areas within five minutes of it, and then hop in their cars to go to the next destination). So I was pleased when a guided group of about 30 people came by, and were able to enjoy it with me.
The Canada Warbler was the second most exciting part of the day. It's only the second time I've ever seen one, and the first time I've seen a breeding male, and the first time I've heard their song (a somewhat dry, chittery back-and-forth warble). I first saw him before dawn, singing--he's who I started my day with. When I came back to the same spot a couple hours later, he was still there and still singing.
The most exciting part of the day was also the single most frustrating part of the day. In the swampy woods near the filtration plant, a strange bird briefly appeared in the treetops to the west (at the edge of the swamp). It appeared so briefly, and was so unclassifiable, that it soon became difficult to trust my memories of it. By evening, all I had left that I was sure of was, "it was red. It was red, by god, it was red, and it was a red that wasn't kidding around!" I mean, there aren't many red birds in North America. You'd think that would make it easy!
It was vivid red, and I could have sworn it had wing bars. Problem: there is no such thing as a "vivid red bird with wing bars" in this part of the world. My first thought was White-Winged Crossbill. But Crossbills are dingy, greyish red. This was more like flame red.
I talked to the guide of the large group, and he didn't have any ideas, other than one that had already occurred to me: it was a molting male Scarlet Tanager, whose strange molt-pattern conspired to convince me that I saw wing bars. I also thought of Western Tanager--a tanager with wing bars native to the western states and provinces--but it only has a red head.
When I got home, I checked my full Peterson's: the guide that covers all North America. There was one bird in there that matched what I thought I had seen. It's called a Flame-Colored Tanager. But that's ludicrous. Flame-Colored Tanagers are already highly rare in south Texas and Arizona, where they occasionally wander in from Mexico.
Whatever it was, I figured, there was no way I'd ever be sure, unless someone else got a better look at it and sent in a report. I filed it in my records as a "maybe Scarlet Tanager", reported it to the OFNC as a "looked like a Flame-Colored Tanager, but please don't tell people I said that, I don't want to be a laughingstock," and pouted.
The next morning, I had email from Chris Lewis of the OFNC. This story has a happy ending. It wasn't a rare species I saw, but it was definitely a rare bird!
September 2nd, 2009
The birding at Mud Lake yesterday morning can only be described as "epic." 41 species, 10 of which were migrant warblers.
Warblers:
- American Redstart
- Black-Throated Green Warbler
- Black-and-White Warbler
- Blackburnian Warbler
- Canada Warbler
- Chestnut-Sided Warbler
- Nashville Warbler
- Northern Parula
- Yellow Warbler
- Yellow-Rumped Warbler
- American Black Duck
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Robin
- Baltimore Oriole
- Black-Capped Chickadee
- Black-Crowned Night Heron
- Blue Jay
- Canada Goose
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chipping Sparrow
- Double-Crested Cormorant
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Phoebe
- European Starling
- Great Black-Backed Gull
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Herring Gull
- Mallard
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Pied-Billed Grebe
- Red-Eyed Vireo
- Ring-Billed Gull
- Rock Pigeon
- Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
- Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
- Warbling Vireo
- White-Breasted Nuthatch
- White-Throated Sparrow
- Wood Duck
That last was the most impressive hotspot. It was an area with lots of berries, though I don't know how many of the warblers took an interest in that (the finches and waxwings certainly did). They were packed in so tight they couldn't even coexist peaceably, they kept chasing each other around. It's a place most serious birders don't usually go (typically they just bird the ridge area, maybe some of the areas within five minutes of it, and then hop in their cars to go to the next destination). So I was pleased when a guided group of about 30 people came by, and were able to enjoy it with me.
The Canada Warbler was the second most exciting part of the day. It's only the second time I've ever seen one, and the first time I've seen a breeding male, and the first time I've heard their song (a somewhat dry, chittery back-and-forth warble). I first saw him before dawn, singing--he's who I started my day with. When I came back to the same spot a couple hours later, he was still there and still singing.
The most exciting part of the day was also the single most frustrating part of the day. In the swampy woods near the filtration plant, a strange bird briefly appeared in the treetops to the west (at the edge of the swamp). It appeared so briefly, and was so unclassifiable, that it soon became difficult to trust my memories of it. By evening, all I had left that I was sure of was, "it was red. It was red, by god, it was red, and it was a red that wasn't kidding around!" I mean, there aren't many red birds in North America. You'd think that would make it easy!
It was vivid red, and I could have sworn it had wing bars. Problem: there is no such thing as a "vivid red bird with wing bars" in this part of the world. My first thought was White-Winged Crossbill. But Crossbills are dingy, greyish red. This was more like flame red.
I talked to the guide of the large group, and he didn't have any ideas, other than one that had already occurred to me: it was a molting male Scarlet Tanager, whose strange molt-pattern conspired to convince me that I saw wing bars. I also thought of Western Tanager--a tanager with wing bars native to the western states and provinces--but it only has a red head.
When I got home, I checked my full Peterson's: the guide that covers all North America. There was one bird in there that matched what I thought I had seen. It's called a Flame-Colored Tanager. But that's ludicrous. Flame-Colored Tanagers are already highly rare in south Texas and Arizona, where they occasionally wander in from Mexico.
Whatever it was, I figured, there was no way I'd ever be sure, unless someone else got a better look at it and sent in a report. I filed it in my records as a "maybe Scarlet Tanager", reported it to the OFNC as a "looked like a Flame-Colored Tanager, but please don't tell people I said that, I don't want to be a laughingstock," and pouted.
The next morning, I had email from Chris Lewis of the OFNC. This story has a happy ending. It wasn't a rare species I saw, but it was definitely a rare bird!
From: Christina LewisHere's the article.
To: Suzanne Britton
Subject: Re: Mud Lake birding, Sept 1st
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 2009 07:31:51 -0400
Hi Suzanne,
Thanks for the report. I & others also saw lots of warblers (total of 16 species) on the 30th - nice to hear that some of them were still around yesterday.
That weird red bird at Mud Lake is - believe it or not - a BALTIMORE ORIOLE! Several people (including myself) saw it on Sunday and we really scratched our heads over it for a while but after getting good looks at it, especially the bill shape, wing bars and general size & structure of the bird we realized that's what it was. Further investigation revealed that this odd pigmentation has been noted in Baltimore Orioles and other spp. that feed on honeysuckle berries; Cedar Waxwings can develop orange (rather than yellow) tips on their tails due to a chemical called rhodoxanthin which is found in these berries. An interesting article about this phenomenon is presented in ABA Birding 2007 - you can read it online (google "baltimore oriole red plumage" and look for the ABA link). Apparently such a bird seen in Halifax in 2005 was also misidentified as a Flame-coloured Tanager!
Good birding,
Chris
| ← | → |