Just when I started to write off this winter as an uninteresting bird feeding season due to warm and wet conditions, our own Eli Haislip witnessed and photographed a Western Tanager at a feeding station. There have only been a handful of reported sightings in TN going all the way back to 1960 and this is the first ever reported in Davidson County! The bird appeared at a feeding station probably interested by the other bird activity. Like Bluebirds, Western Tanagers are primarily insect and fruit eaters but during winter may take advantage of “alternative” food sources like seeds out of the shell, suet, mealworms, or dried fruit.
Western Tanager range map
This Western Tanager is truly out of its normal range which is well west of the Mississippi during the breeding season. See range map. During the non-breeding season these birds normally migrate to Central and South America, like our Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. In the past ten or twenty years, however, it has become commonplace to see some western hummingbirds, like Rufous, Anna’s, Caliope, and Black-chinned migrate to this part of the country for the winter rather than to Central and South America. Why? There’s no absolute answer but it is interesting and gives one cause to pay closer attention. This is why bird researchers and banders encourage people to leave a hummingbird feeder up during winter months.
Adult male Western Tanagers are strikingly beautiful in breeding plumage sporting a red face and throat with yellow underparts and nape, which contrasts sharply with the black back, wings, and tail. As is the case with many bird species females are much less colorful. Female W. Tanagers have a yellow head and underparts while the back is olive-gray and wings are gray with white wing bars.
Keep an eye on your feeding stations. Winter is always a time when something “different” may appear. If anything looks a little different to you stop and take a closer look with binoculars. Let us know what you see.
Next week get ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count.