Now arriving in Georgia from winter grounds as far south as Peru is the scarlet tanager, whose gleaming red breeding plumage (in the male) is one of the brightest in the bird world. The stunning bird is a common summer nester in Georgia's upper Piedmont and mountains up to 4,400 feet in elevation.
One writer has described its redness as “brighter than the best bottle of red nail polish.” The late Georgia ornithologist Thomas Burleigh said that “the first glimpse of a male scarlet tanager cannot fail to evoke admiration difficult to express in ordinary adjectives.” Giff Beaton, co-author of “Birds of Georgia,” said that “the return of the black-winged, brilliant red male ... in spring is always a much-anticipated event” among birders.
So it is understandable why a pair of scarlet tanagers -- a male and a female -- flitting among treetops in Stone Mountain Park last weekend generated much excitement among several of us Atlanta Audubon Society members during a bird walk. We were lon the park’s songbird trail when we spied the tanagers gleaning tiny inchworm caterpillars and other insect larvae from the leafy canopies of tall hickories and tulip poplars.
The female was less colorful with her olive-brown wings and tail edged with yellowish olive green -- a protective measure to make her less noticeable to predators while sitting on a nest. But the male, with the morning sun beaming on his red plumage, seemed like a shiny red light moving among the treetops -- breathtaking and unmistakable.
We were lucky in a way to get such good glimpses of the tanagers because they often stay well-hidden due to their proclivity for foraging and nesting in upper branches of trees with dense foliage. Usually, only their song reveals their presence.
“OK, we can go home now; we’ve seen our bird of the day,” our leader, Chris Showalter, said with a laugh.
As it turned out, though, the Fernbank Science Center ornithologist wasn’t far off the mark. Other neo-tropical migratory songbirds, especially the warblers, seem to be slow in returning this spring from winter homes -- perhaps because of a lack of frontal weather that often blows in goodly numbers of birds.
In all, we saw or heard 28 species -- most of them year-round residents -- during our two-hour walk along the Stone Mountain Park Songbird Trail.
In the sky: The annual Lyrid meteor shower will be visible all weekend, reaching a peak Saturday night of about 15 meteors per hour, said David Dundee, a Tellus Science Museum astronomer. Look to the northeast from about 2 a.m. until dawn.
The moon is new tonight, guaranteeing a dark sky for watching the Lyrid shower. On Sunday, look for a thin crescent moon low in the west just after dark. Mercury is low in the east just before dawn. Venus, shining brightly, is in the west just after dark and sets about three hours later. It will appear near the moon Tuesday night. Mars rises out of the east a few hours after sunset. Jupiter is very low in the west at dusk and will appear near the moon Sunday night. Saturn rises out of the east a few hours after sunset.
If you go
Stone Mountain Park Songbird Trail
This relatively easy 1-mile trail takes you through habitat managed in an early successional stage -- an excellent spot for indigo buntings, yellow-breasted chats, sparrows, blue grosbeaks and other songbirds, according to the Atlanta Audubon Society. During migration many of the wood warblers and other migrants are here.
Directions and parking: From Atlanta go east on U.S. 78 (Stone Mountain Freeway) to Exit 8, Stone Mountain Park entrance. After entering the park, take an immediate left onto Stonewall Jackson Drive. Go 3.3 miles, then take a left onto another paved side road. The parking area is 800 feet at the end of a paved turnaround area, at the trailhead.
Cost: Use of the songbird trail is free, but the entry fee to Stone Mountain Park is $10 per vehicle per day. An annual park pass can be purchased for $35.
Restroom facilities are located in several areas of the park.
Phone: 770-498-5690. www.stonemountainpark.com.
