Sorry for the late post, but Mother's Day trumped birding this year...still, I wanted to share a field observation from yesterday (Saturday, May 10). Up north visiting my parents in Norwalk over the weekend, I stole an hour for myself and took a quick walk out to the beach area at Sheldon's Marsh (Erie County).  The first light of morning was like a painting from one of the Dutch masters.  At the end of the walk, just off the beach area in the willows and cottonwoods, I had a magnificient view of a first spring Summer Tanager; a sighting that will stay with me for many years.  I have never seen this transitional plumage before, though I have seen many Summer Tanagers over the years.  This bird, a young male, was almost florescent and in the early morning light, outright gaudy in coloration.  Bright orange-red chest and head, florescent yellow-green belly and undertail coverts.  Note the heavier bill than in Scarlet Tanager and more "horn" coloration of the bill.  Consult
Sibleys if you are interested, but be warned that this depiction does not do justice to the bird!  Also significantly, this was the first Summer Tanager I have ever seen north of the Mansfield area.
One for the memory bank!  Hope you, too, are experiencing a memorable spring.
Good birding,
Steven Richards
Upper Arlington, Ohio




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