Spring 64: Tanagered!

Tuesday, May 25, 2011
7:50am-8:30am, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, MA
warm breeze, hazy

Funny that I should hear the "robin with a sore throat" (the Scarlet Tanager) on a morning that I have a bit of a sore throat - which leads me to ponder once again my composition idea, "I am a Robin". Perhaps the piece needs a sequel...

I'd like to invent a new term - "tanagered" - to describe the feeling of extreme neck-fatigue and deep bewilderment at searching the high canopy (with leaves fluttering in the breeze) for a high-up, back-lit, smallish bird who at this distance looks exactly like a fluttering (or not-fluttering) leaf.

His singing is so distinctive and clear that one feels sure that he will be easy to spot. So the frustration is even more intense!

However, I am glad to report that I survived the tanagering, and did manage two sightings of this incredibly-hued bird. They aren't joking about the scarlet - it really is an intense and brilliant color!

(I'm not trying to sneak in an extra bird, but I also like the Eastern Wood Pee-Wee who is making his little questioning calls in the background!)