Towheeblog

We were on a short walk through the woods at McMinnville’s Airport Park. Near the Mushroom House one of our group spotted a bright yellow bird in the undergrowth. It was a bright male Western Tanager, his cherry-colored head glowing, even in the shade. As we watched it became clear that there was a fsamily group feeding, female and young. We watched, and the male grew angry at our snoopiness, our mere presence. He remained silent but flew threat sorties over our heads and came nearby. At least twice he landed less than twelve feet away and gave us an angry look before buzzing off and swooping back. Was he threatening or simply attracting our attention like those limping Killdeer? We politely withdrew, leaving them to their tanager-world.

This walk was sponsored by McMinnville Park & Rec. I will be treaching a fall birding class for them this October–either in person or via Zoom.

McMinnville Airport Park & Airport Road, Yamhill, Oregon, US
Jul 19, 2021
8 species

Western Wood-Pewee  2
Black-capped Chickadee  X
Barn Swallow  1
American Robin  8
Cedar Waxwing  6
Lesser Goldfinch  X
Spotted Towhee  2
Western Tanager  4