Birds

Twitching the Summer Tanager in Northern California

August 25, 2016 by Larry 8 Comments
Summer Tanager Male

No one can accuse me of being a twitcher but when I checked my email Sunday morning and found that the local list serve posted a Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) only 45 minutes from my home, well, that would be a lifer for me 😉  Click on photos for full sized image.

Summer Tanager Male

So off I went, camera in hand, to see if I could find the wayward bird.

Summer Tanager Male

No sooner had I parked and gotten out of my car when some of the folks at the campground asked if I was “looking for the bird?” How did they know that?

Summer Tanager Male

As I discovered chatting with my fellow birders at the Sycamore Grove Campground, this male Summer Tanager would be a record for Tehama County California.

Summer Tanager Male

He was not camera shy…

Summer Tanager Male

and as I mentioned to one of the other photogs in attendance…

Summer Tanager Male

many times I find that birds will come closer to investigate the clicking sound of the camera.

Summer Tanager Male

I was able to get a few shots of him eating one of the berries off the tree…

Summer Tanager Male

Summer Tanager Male

Not having much time to bird lately and due to the fact that daytime temps have been in the triple digits for several weeks in Northern California recently, it was good to get out with fellow birders and enjoy the avifauna.

Summer Tanager Male

I hope you enjoyed this photo gallery of my lifer male Summer Tanager as much as I enjoyed my twitching experience! My guess is that I will be chasing more birds in the not too distant future when I have more free time.

Written by Larry
Larry Jordan was introduced to birding after moving to northern California where he was overwhelmed by the local wildlife, forcing him to buy his first field guide just to be able to identify all the species visiting his yard. Building birdhouses and putting up feeders brought the avian fauna even closer and he was hooked. Larry wanted to share his passion for birds and conservation and hatched The Birder's Report in September of 2007. His recent focus is on bringing the Western Burrowing Owl back to life in California where he also monitors several bluebird trails. He is a BirdLife Species Champion and contributes to several other conservation efforts, being the webmaster for Wintu Audubon Society and the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Urban Bird Foundation. He is now co-founder of a movement to create a new revenue stream for our National Wildlife Refuges with a Wildlife Conservation Pass.