Scarlet Tanager – Piranga olivacea

After spending 5 hours planning for the first day of school this morning, I thought I owed myself a romp in the wilderness. One of the problems of birding on the weekend is that there are all of these other people milling around. My birding experience was frequently interrupted with loud hikers, bicyclists, and joggers. I’ll have to wait until next summer before I can have the parks all to myself again. Alas and woe.

I did catch this scarlet tanager in mid-wardrobe change. I caught it between its summer scarlet and its fall yellow. I thought it was an oriole through my lens because of the odd coloration but Merlin says scarlet tanager. After further research, I have to agree.