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Took a quick birding trip this morning to Harris Lake Park in New Hill, N.C. Thankfully it wasn’t as hot today as it’s been lately, plus it was cloudy outside which was a nice change! One of the prettiest birds I found was this male Summer Tanager hanging out in the Maple trees near the parking lot. I watched him for a few minutes as he made his way through the leaves hunting insects. Did you know that Summer Tanagers eat bees and wasps? They also consume of lots of other insects too such as cicadas, mealworms, katydids and grasshoppers throughout the spring and summer. However, during the mid-late summer months, they will try to build up their fat content in preparation for their autumn migration ahead. This means that fifty percent or more of its diet consists of fruits and berries during this time of the year. If you would like to attract Summer Tanagers to your backyard, the best way to do that is to provide them with the fruits and berries they relish. They are also quite fond of grape and raspberry jelly! In addition, here are some of the plants that provide fruits and berries relished by Summer Tanagers as they prepare to embark on their long flight to Central and South America in October: blueberry, blackberry, grape, hawthorn, flowering dogwood, rough-leaf dogwood, pokeberry, and black gum. While it might be too late to add these plants to your garden this summer, now is the time to plan ahead for next year. The birds will thank you for it! Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame SLR, the @canonusa #5Ds

A post shared by Bird Watching N.C. (@birdwatching_nc) on Jul 24, 2020 at 2:43pm PDT