One of the most beautiful birds here in North Carolina is the Summer Tanager. These striking red birds are easy to spot even in the treetops with that vibrant plumage.
The males are crimson colored with a few bits of orange feathers mixed in during molting periods while the females are dressed in a lovely yellow and warm brown plumage.
The Summer Tanager is currently making its way back into the Triangle for the breeding season. Though they are found throughout the state, they’re most numerous in the central and eastern regions.
Their diet mainly consists of insects and they are particularly fond of eating bees.
You can even attract them to your yard by offering suet and and jelly at your feeders.
When out in the field, look for them hunting for a meal in the mid canopy layers of the trees in deciduous woods, from longleaf pine stands to oak forests.
These beauties will stick around North Carolina until mid September so their is plenty of time for us to enjoy them over the next few months!
🙂
Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the full frame beast of an SLR, the mighty @canonusa
#5Ds