I’ve never thought of myself as a birdwatcher, but I always have kept an eye on whatever wildlife happens to pass through around here. I’ve done several articles on tocc.tv about the amazing variety of wild animals and it seems like every year I’m surprised to see some new critter. After seeing several long legged birds, foxes, cayotes, wolves, armadillos, turtles and more, I thought I’d must have finally seen it all.
This year it turns out that there are even more animals to be discovered here and all I had to do was sit down in my new chair, drink beer, watch and take pictures. I might have seen these birds in the past but dismissed them as atypical hybrids. This time it seems they all showed up at once and obviously they are not all hybrids.
The markings of the Scarlet tanager are so well defined I knew it must be it’s own species so I went looking on the Internet and sure enough, there it is. The Rose-breasted grosbeak also has a very beautiful and distinctive pattern and I’m fairly sure I’ve never seen her around here before. The tanager I’m not sure about but I think it’s been around before. The Grey Catbird is a bit non-descript and I might simply have not noticed her before if she has been around. Finally, the Orange-fronted yellow finch I had noticed once before and because it’s yellow hue and markings are less defined it is the one I thought must be some type of hybrid. Then I found her on the internet.
The leaves in the Orange-fronted yellow finch photo are brown because I trimmed the tree and missed pulling out a limb, and it may be the bird was attracted to the similar color. I love the fact that the Mulberry attracts these birds and that it is situated right in front of my chair. Unfortunately, it is also situated where it blocks the morning sun from shining on the solar panels, and so I have to top it out every year.
All these birds are migratory and probably won’t be around for the rest of summer. Seeing them all at once might suggest a shift in migratory pattern that they are all following at once. But, I really don’t know because I’m certainly not an expert.
©2025 – Jim Porter Casey
