Now that know what you’re thinking, these are photos of Baltimore Orioles in this post, not Western Tanagers.
Well, the reason why is because I failed hard while on a feeder stakeout while watching for a lone vagrant Western Tanager in Rocky Mount NC this past week.
Though we never saw my target bird, I did come away with a few words of advice if you’re going to wait on a bird plus a good number of beautiful Baltimore Oriole photos which is still pretty damn cool lol!

One-if you’re going to stakeout a bird you’ll need to bring a few things to make the time sitting in one spot bearable.
*a friend
*drinks
*a comfy place to sit
*snacks
*a masseuse (sore back & legs from sitting)
*a good sense of humor & optimism
*the ability to let time go and stick around 30 mins later after you’ve said you’d give up in 5
*the grace to take the L and move on lol

Two-if your target bird is on private property make an effort to thank the owner for their hospitality if they’ve made the rare bird sighting public.
I can’t tell you how rewarding it is to connect with other bird lovers who are generous enough to open up their yards to birders so that we can enjoy their feathered treasure.
In this case we got to meet Ricky & Ann.
They were so nice!!!
Apparently they’ve been feeding the birds in their yard for 30 years & it showed!
We saw over two dozen different species (including these gorgeous Orioles!) while we sat watching for that Tanager.
I was impressed with the couple’s warmth and enthusiasm for birds, their support of their fellow birders efforts in seeing the rarity that had showed up in their yard.
After 2 mins of chatting with them it was like meeting long lost family.
That to me is better than anything, a rarity in my book 🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on my beloved 50MP beast, the @canonusa#5Ds

WANT TO ATTRACT BALTIMORE ORIOLES TO YOUR YARD TOO? CHECK OUT THESE FEEDERS FROM TRACTOR SUPPLY!