More of the Summer Tanager - How does he catch the bees?

The Summer Tanager we reported on Monday of this week remains in Washington Park, Pacific Grove in the immediate vicinity of the Bee Tree. On Tuesday, March 29th we again visited the Park about mid-day. It was a sunny day with temperatures in the high 50's - a pleasant day for watching the "Birds and the Bees". We were not disappointed!

We set up with a different lens and tripod combination to try to improve on the shots we got the day before. This time we used a Nikon 500mm f/4 G ED AF-S VR II lens, a 1.4x Teleconverter and again used the Nikon D7000 camera with a Wimberley WH-101 tripod head and a Gitzo tripod. It was a functional test for this combination as we were hoping to improve the quality of the shots as well as the out-of-focus background appearance.

The results follow.

We were successful in spotting the Summer Tanager quickly as he was changing perches frequently in the immediate vicinity of the Bee Tree. He was never more than one or two trees away and always up 30' to 40' near the tree tops - usually finding a roost in the dense upper pine branches.

The Bee Tree colony remained very active as shown below. It's interesting to note the bees in all kinds of orientations while flying outside their hive entrance. The camera set-up has nicely stopped the bees in flight.

We captured shots of the Summer Tanager at three different locations and include examples of each below showing the various colors of his plumage. First on a shaded branch -

Then nearby at another location with a bit more sun -

And, finally on a broken branch just below the hive entrance. While on this branch the Tanager was watching the bee activity around him. Here we see him in a particularly nice pose looking up towards the hive opening.

The two shots that follow show him watching nearby bees -

Finally, just a few seconds later, he caught a bee in mid-flight. A nice reward for him and for us as well. We were pleased with the performance of the Summer Tanager and the new camera set-up. We will continue our visits to the Park and will report on any future unusual sightings.

Summer Tanager, Washington Park, Pacific Grove

A rare sighting on the Monterey Peninsula - Monday, March 28, 2011.
With  a lot of help from local expert Brian Weed and members of his birding class, we were provided with excellent location information. We were very fortunate to find the Summer Tanager near the reported "Bee Tree" in Washington Park. This tree harbors a very active bee colony that provides the food source for the Tanager during his frequent visits to the Park. It is reported that the many Acorn Woodpeckers also feed on the bees although we did not see that activity this day.

Don Roberson in his book "Monterey Birds" (fully revised second edition 2002) reports that since 1959 there have been at least 49 records of Summer Tanager sightings throughout the County. On the coast in Pacific Grove, there have been far fewer sightings over the years.
Roberson reports; "Rare vagrant, with peak in the winter, but records span the seasons."
The Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America describes the Summer Tanager as "fairly common" and that "young males acquiring adult plumage may be patched with red, yellow and green". The Peterson's range map (p 356) shows the more common central and south-eastern range - not the California coast.

The Smithsonian Zoological Park has very complete information on the Summer Tanager in this link. It is well worth looking at this fine detail. They describe the Summer Tanager as "The Bird that Loves Bees". You will also note on this same link that there is a female Summer Tanager posing at almost the same angle as the last shot included below. Although the female in the link has the green coloration, our sighting seems to show the young male acquiring his adult plumage as mentioned in the Peterson Guide, page 356.

Identification of this bird therefore seems to be a maturing male as he has the "patched" coloration unlike the female.

After several trips to the Park, we finally found the "Bee Tree". At first we were just not looking high enough. Actually, we found the tree after sighting and photographing the bird. The colony was active on this day and provides a great source of nourishment for the birds.

Very near the "Bee Tree" we first sighted the  Summer Tanager on a high branch consuming some kind of an insect. The photo below has been processed to maximize the detail resulting from the very shaded location. We can see some of the unusual rich coloration and a good profile.

The Tanager was very active and quickly moved to a sunny branch nearby where we could get much better detail of the coloration. The stripes across his back are a result of pine needle shadows just to the left of this shot.

An additional shot as he turned around on another nearby branch shows good detail of his coloration from the rear.

We offer sincere thanks to the friends and fellow birders without who's cooperation these shots would not be here for us all to enjoy.

Revisiting the Western Grebes Along the Pacific Grove Shore

First, we show a fine example of a Double-crested Cormorant on his posing rock. The wind was blowing from just the right direction and the afternoon sun showed the fine feather detail as well as the eye and face color. How about those crests!
Then, below we report on the wintering Western Grebes.

The group of wintering Western Grebes remains in their offshore Pacific Grove shore location. There were 42 birds in the group - mostly Western Grebes. We did see two male and two female Red-breasted Mergansers in the group as well as one male Surf Scoter. Apparently the group provides some added measure is safety from predators.

The shot below shows a few of the Western Grebes in differing behavior as well as the Surf Scoter to the right of center. I waited almost half an hour for him to stick out his head so I could get this shot. These birds were about 200 yards offshore. The extreme distance makes it difficult to make ideal observations but it does illustrate the group behavior.

This cropped shot shows the typical Western Grebe resting behavior but note the watchful eye - ever on the alert. They certainly are not sleeping.

And, nearby the Song Sparrow was singing for all the hear. We always enjoy the ever-changing wildlife activity along the ocean shore.