Summer is a quiet time here at Beidler Forest. Most of our young warblers have already fledged and the males have mostly stopped singing, but there still are tons of different bird species to see here during the summer before they migrate south starting in the fall. 

One of the species you may see is the aptly named Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra). A less well-known relative of the familiar Northern Cardinal. Unlike Northern Cardinals, Summer Tanagers are migratory and spend their winters in The Caribbean and Central and South America. This species is sexually dimorphic, meaning that the males and females look different. Males are red and females can be olive green to mustard yellow. 

Their diet consists primarily of insects and fruits. They typically forage and nest high up in trees, which can make spotting them somewhat difficult. Listen for their robin-like song and bubbly “pit-a-tuck" calls. 

The biggest threat to Summer Tanagers is habitat loss. They prefer to live and nest in mature forests. As more forest land is cleared for farmland and development in both their breeding and wintering grounds, this reduces the amount of suitable habitat for the speciesas well as the insect populations that they rely on for food. Preserving mature forests will greatly benefit Summer Tanagers as well as other species they share their habitat with.