Last weekend, I was on the gorgeous wooded grounds of St.-Mary-of-the-Woods College, outside Terre Haute. I was there for a (non-birding) retreat, but saw more red-headed woodpeckers than Ive ever seen. Fantastic, close looks. Also saw a first-spring male summer tanager that I desperately wanted to make into a Western, but thanks to my Sibleys, and its specific illustration of that first-spring plumage, I wasnt led astray: strong orange-red face and chest, yellow body and dark-olive (not black) wings, without the wing bars of the Western. It was a great exercise in looking carefully at field marks + range + transitional plumage. I highly recommend that campus for birding, btw.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 19:18:16 +0000