It was such a treat to see this beautiful Summer Tanager at our bird feeder the other morning. We’ve only seen one in our yard a couple of years ago and it then only stayed for a few minutes. This Summer Tanager stayed for three days.
I wonder where he goes for the rest of the summer? Gorgeous bird, don’t you think?
Many thanks to Stephanie, Executive Director at Wild Care, for correctly identifying this as a Summer Tanager. Thank you, Stephanie!
This Great Blue Heron was patiently standing on the log at Goose Pond at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, waiting for his next meal. (Click on Blog link if you can’t get the entire photograph.)
I loved the reflections of the Great Blue Heron, the driftwood, and the reeds on the water. The water looks almost mystical…
What do you think?
Also arriving on the same rainy day as the Baltimore Orioles was the Orchard Oriole. At first I thought it was just a darker Baltimore Oriole but when I did a little research, it was definitely an Orchard Oriole. What a treat! Two different species of Orioles at our feeder on the same day! (Click on link for another photograph.)
Orchard Oriole “adult males are black above and rich reddish-chestnut below. They have a black head and throat, with a reddish-chestnut patch at the bend of the wing. Females are greenish yellow with two white wing bars and no black. Immature males look like females, but have black around the bill and throat.”
You can see the difference between the two Orioles by scrolling back to Sunday’s post.
It’s amazing how a pouring rain Sunday can turn into such an awesome day!
We put the grape jelly out a few days ago in anticipation of the Baltimore Orioles arriving back on the Cape for the summer. They usually come sometime in the first week of May. They arrived yesterday… in the pouring rain.
I sat by the window and just watched them for a long, long time, taking a few photographs through the rain-spattered windows, and watching them “inhale” the grape jelly from Phil’s custom-made Baltimore Oriole feeder. We learned a few years ago that the Baltimore Orioles prefer to eat upside down, hanging onto something. Here they hang on to a long screw. The beauty of this feeder is that the Baltimore Orioles have no problem eating from it, while no other birds around here eat upside down and have long enough beaks to eat the jelly.
They are such an exquisite bird, don’t think? Have they arrived at your home yet for the summer?
