Birding dilemma. We put oranges out on the feeder and have been getting a hooded oriole. Then we got another bird, eating the other orange half, a little smaller than the 8” oriole. It’s obvious what it was, a 7” olive bird with black wings, a nonbreeding male scarlet tanager.
Problem is, it’s an eastern bird. We looked in the guide. It’s not supposed to be here. We’ve got an ABA guide “Birders Guide to Southern California”. It doesn’t show as rare on the bar chart. It is not even mentioned on the bar chart. We just called a bird that doesn’t belong here. Problem is, nothing else looks like it. Olive bird with black wings and a stubby bill. That’s the only bird it could be.
We hesitate to be the first person ever to call a bird in a place it has never been before. We’re just not that good (confident) at birding.
Continuing to scan the birder’s guide, I found the “seldom seen, but possible” page. Yes. The scarlet tanager. I’ll go with that. We saw a seldom seen, but possible bird.
