Friends of the Limberlost
  • Home
  • Resources
    • Maps
    • Teachers
    • Mobile app and iBook
    • Programs >
      • Birds >
        • Beneficial Birds
        • Chimney Swifts
        • Eagles
        • Extreme Birds
        • Indiana's Raptors
        • Owls of Limberlost
        • Peregrine Falcons
        • Vultures
      • Insects >
        • Dragonflies
        • Moths
      • Rent-a-Naturalist
    • News
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Bird's Eye View
  • Contact Us

Scarlet Tanager

9/21/2015

 
Picture
by Alex Forsythe

Last Mother's Day, my mom had one request: find her a Scarlet Tanager close enough that she could see it. That's a tall order! They are typically found high in the treetops in forest interiors, and we live in an area in which field corn is usually the tallest plant around! We drove to the next county and found not one, but four male Scarlet Tanagers and 2 females, all down low and easy to see and photograph! It was quite a memorable Mother's Day! Since then we've managed to attract them to our yard. They dine from a mealworm feeder that I set out for Bluebirds. I've also noticed that when I take my mom with me on a birding hike, we now find Scarlet Tanagers more often than not. I think they know she loves them and they appreciate the attention!

My mom loves the Scarlet Tanager primarily for its color. The male is a beautiful crimson with black wings and tail, while the female is equally gorgeous with a yellow-green body and dark wings. Both the male and female sing, but the female's song is quieter and less harsh than the male's song. 

Gene Stratton-Porter loved Tanagers, too. She raised and released a Scarlet Tanager while she was writing "Friends in Feathers", and she included the experience near the beginning of that book. The Tanager's nest had been destroyed by a storm and the bird was in danger of either drowning or being trampled by cattle. She took the chick home and dutifully fed it every 15 minutes for ten days. Then she gradually and patiently taught the bird to be self-supporting. She released it in her orchard, feeding and watering it for a while after it fledged, then she slowly reduced the bird's dependence on her. She was sad to see it go, but she knew it was the right thing to do.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology conducted extensive studies on the Scarlet Tanager in the 1990's resulting in a comprehensive report: "A Land Manager's Guide to Improving Habitat for Scarlet Tanagers and other Forest-interior Birds". It was Cornell's first publication in a series of habitat management guidelines. From 1993 to 1996 over 1,000 volunteers studied Scarlet Tanagers at over 2,000 study sites across North America. At the time, it was one of the largest datasets ever collected on forest fragmentation and birds.

The study found that forest fragmentation negatively affected Scarlet Tanagers, but surprisingly the importance of forest-patch size and isolation of the patches depended largely on the region. In the Midwest, including Indiana, Tanagers are far more affected by fragmentation and require larger tracts of forest in order to survive. According to the study, "roughly 66 acres are required to achieve High Suitability [for Tanager habitat in the Midwest]. As the amount of forest in the surrounding block decreases, the minimum area required by tanagers increases sharply, roughly doubling for every 10% reduction in surrounding forest. Note that in sparsely forested landscapes, the minimum areas required for high and moderate suitability are sometimes impossible to achieve." The study recommends protecting existing forests, reclaiming forest areas, and establishing forested corridors to reconnect isolated forest patches.

Another cause of concern is the Brown-headed Cowbird. If a Cowbird discovers a Tanager's nest near the forest edge, it may lay its egg in the nest, securing the survival of its chick at the expense of the Tanager's chick. Historically, the Brown-headed Cowbird followed the buffalo herds across the plains. As a nomadic species, it could not remain in one location long enough to build a nest and raise its brood. Instead, it was forced to rely on other bird species to raise its young, depositing its eggs in another bird's nest in what is known as "brood parasitism". The Cornell Tanager study points out that the expansion of the Cowbird's range was and is caused solely by humans. With the destruction of the buffalo herds, introduction of cattle and ranches, deforestation of the land, and the ever-increasing agricultural lands, the Cowbirds moved into territories of birds that had no mechanisms for rejecting Cowbird eggs. In addition, the study found that many species require forested areas that are at least 330 feet from a a forest edge; the edge causes an increase in the rate of nest predation and parasitism. The larger the forest patch, the less likely it is for a Cowbird to find a Tanager nest. 

Hopefully land owners will adopt the recommendations in Cornell's study. With proper forest management, Scarlet Tanagers could be available on Mother's Day for many years to come, making beautiful memories for moms like mine.


Comments are closed.

    Author

    The volunteers and staff of Limberlost

    Archives

    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.