Tanagers, Orioles and Buntings

BIRD LOVERS CORNER – Tanagers, Orioles and Buntings A few interesting and exciting sightings have been reported to me this past couple of weeks, with the spring migration of birds in full swing. A beautiful male Western Tanager was seen amongst pine trees, near the Okanagan Lake. Normally this bird frequents Douglas fir habitat, so was likely just resting. The Western Tanager is usually a solitary bird, frequenting the upper levels of trees. The male in the breeding season features a yellow breast and rump, with a black mid back and wings. A distinguishing feature is a red head. In the non breeding season the red is only obvious around the beak. The female has a dusky gray back and yellowish head and rump. The Western Tanagers feed on insects and larvae gleaned from leaves. Tanagers return to the Valley in mid May and leave again in August and September. Their saucer like nest is placed on a horizontal branch, constructed of twigs and rootlets and lined with fine grasses and hair. There are usually 5 eggs laid. The Tanager spends the winter in Mexico or Costa Rica. The Lazuli Bunting, although not quite as impressive as its cousin, the Indigo Bunting of the East, it is nevertheless a joy to observe. The head and back are of a sky or turquoise blue; the throat gray, the breast a cinnamon color.  It has two distinct wing bars. Often there are traces of blue in the wings and tail. The drabber female is grayish with some blue in the tail and a lighter buff coloured breast. The bird prefers tangled shrubs, rose bushes in low lying areas near streams or ponds. The nest is usually only a meter or less above the ground and is a small cup of grasses with 4 eggs laid. This bird, like the Tanager, is subject to cowbird invasion. The Lazuli Buntings arrive mind May and leave in August. Often they nest in colonies. The Northern Oriole is a little smaller than a robin but striking in colour. The breeding male has a fiery orange body, black crown and orange cheeks, a black back, orange tail and distinct white wing bars. Surprisingly, despite all this brilliant colour, they can be hard to see as the forage among the leaves of deciduous trees. Their song can be confused with that of a robin, but with rich, long notes and many variations. They prefer deciduous woodlands, particularly aspens and birch growing near water. The nest is a hanging pouch from a tree branch, made of grasses, horsehair, cottonwood, down and even spider webs. I had left a Christmas tree to decompose at the bottom of my yard, one year and it had some tinsel clinging to it.  The Northern Oriole used the tinsel the next summer to weave into its nest, in a nearby Birch Tree.  The Northern Oriole is a common summer resident arriving mid May and leaving in August. They migrate south to Mexico and South America. They feed on insects some grasses and fruit. All these birds are a delight to see as they migrate north.

 

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