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I was tapping away on my keyboard in my office yesterday and saw the most beautiful bird land on the feeder. I’d never seen one like it, so of course, immediately posted the photo on Facebook for my birder friends to weigh in.
The consensus is that this is a Summer Tanager – a young male – but apparently, it’s very rare for one to be this far north. From what I understand, they don’t generally venture as far north as Michigan. Here’s a bit about them at All About Birds, the website of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
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Dawn VH Franzke has one visiting her feeder in Freedom, WI.
He’s here right now!!!!
Post a pic if you’ve got one! 🙂 -jb
Beautiful!
I can’t believe you were able to get those shots. I think you should tell one of the birdwatcher societies about your sighting. We have an annual bird count here in different parks I can’t remember offhand if it’s the Audobahn Society?
A summer tanager was in my parents’ yard 15 or so years ago in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. They had many birders visit the yard that spring!
We have a pair of “Scarlet” Tanagers that come every year. They really like our bird bath along with the Indigo Bunting.
We have a pair for the first time ever. I had to look them up on Google. What a surprise. They are beautiful with the green and orange. We are very happy to have them visiting our backyard!
We are located in Ontonagon which is in the western Upper Peninsula.
Just saw a male summer tanager at our bird feeder this morning (5/10) We live in Plymouth, Mi.
I had one on my feeder the last few days. I looked it up since I hadn’t seen one before. It is definitely a summer tanager and not the scarlet. It is all red.
I photographed a first year male in East Tawas, MI last spring at this time during bird migration. It was attracted to my grape jelly I put out for the Orioles. I was very excited to see one and to photograph it.
I spotted one in Emmet County MI this weekend on a camping trip. The picture is pretty blurry but someone with a nice camera took a bunch of good shots. Hopefully she will post them!
Saw a tananger in Kensington metropark in the spring.looked like a flying bag of Cheetos. Neon orange. I think the types of tanangers can mate and produce unusual combinations.
Saw a Sumner Tanager this morning on my back deck where I had spread bird seeds east of Kalamazoo, Michigan on 12/30/3020. Never seen one before. Beautiful red with brown tipped wings. Didn’t get the greatest photo, but you can tell it is not a cardinal.
I saw one at my birdfeeder in Clarkston Michigan this morning… Thought it was a cardinal but then I noticed no tuft and it was small like a finch.
So cool, Mike. That’s the only one I’ve ever seen here. Hoping I see another one sometime!
We saw our first Scarlet Tanager in Ionia, Michigan today! What a magnificent sight!! Unfortunately I didn’t get to snap a picture of it.