First he tried to break
in through my living room bay window. It was totally unexpected.
Click, click,
ka-thunk.
I jumped; my book did a
loop-de-loop with a bad landing on my armchair table, barely missing my coffee.
All I caught was a flash of red and he was gone. Once I caught my breath a
flicker of movement across the room showed two of my cats in hunt mode
slinking, belly down, across the room.
Click, click,
ka-thunk.
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| Casey on my desk and my Dragon |
My cup of coffee did
not survive the second attack on the window or the twenty-pound cat leaping up
and over. She’s a Maine Coon cat (on her mama’s side) and huge. Despite her
size she’s incredibly fast.
As I mopped up the
coffee I watched with bemusement as a flash of red flew first at one side then
the other of the window then moved to the porch railing and back to the window
for another run. Hover and attack. Repeat again and again.
I couldn't make out
what he was other than bright red. But I became accustomed to his fascination
with my window and dive-bombing the lower areas where two of my cats settled on
the wide window seat for a front row view.
Then he tried to break
in through my kitchen garden window while I was doing dishes and about scared
the life out of me. The saucer didn't make it.
Then he fell in love
with my car. Granted, he has good taste but my car window had...gunk on
it. Then my car developed multiple paw prints because, of course, the pride of
cats had to investigate. I moved the car from near the oak tree where his nest
was located. Three hundred feet away seems to
be the magic number.
All the while I’m trying to figure out what he was. It
was a mystery. Not a Cardinal, which has more sense than to attack my windows
and his song, is prettier. He sits up on the oak branches (or on the front
porch railing) and sings his heart out. Beautiful repertoire. Definitely not a
Cardinal. I have a Mockingbird family in another oak out front. Two different
males almost drown out the other birds like my Golden Finches, Grosbeaks, and
Orioles. I have a lot of Robins who sing, Bluebirds, and a couple of pairs of
Indigo Buntings, but they’re usually in the back yard area. A truly marvelous
symphony happens in my yard everyday. J
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| Wiki commons |
I finally identified him. He’s a Summer Tanager. His mate
is sort of a golden color with some reddish tones, but I only see her once in a
while. Summer Tanagers were once classified as songbirds and now are classified
as part of the Cardinal family. I've seen Tanagers before, at a distance, and
thought they were Cardinal without the black markings or the crest. I thought
they might be an immature male Cardinal? Didn't think much of it until I got a
close look at this one as he assaulted my windows.
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| wiki commons |
My area is a prime breeding area for the Tanager. While
they’re raising babies they consume a lot of bees, wasps (they knock the
stinger off against the tree and then carry it to the nest) and fruit, like Poke berries and blackberries. This guy does not like any squirrels in his tree. I've watched him chase them off. He also doesn't like Blue Jays, which is
understandable, considering Jays will attack the young of other birds. I do have
a pair of Jays that customarily raise their young on the far eastern boundary of my
yard. They mostly stay away from each other but do clash now and then.
So, the mystery red bird has been identified and although I’m
not thrilled with his window attacks—which are becoming less frequent or I’m
becoming inured. I am happy he’s
taken out two good-sized wasp nests near the front bay window and the one near
the front porch. Saves my husband from spraying them, as he’s had to do the
last few years. He is fine looking bird and makes beautiful music.
Here's his song.
