Mariton: Red What?

by Tim Burris, Preserve Manager.  Photos by Carole Mebus. 

The Mariton “Bird Club” went to Illick’s Mill in Bethlehem for this week’s walk.  We got some very common looks at species that are often difficult to view.

Red-eyed Vireo

I find Red-eyed Vireos to be very tough to see.  They usually perch in the tree top directly overhead.  I mean directly overhead; you usually want to lie on your back to see them.  When you finally locate them way up there, you can’t see any distinguishing marks.  So, we were pleasantly surprised by a very cooperative Red-eye that perched in visible locations and let everyone see it.   Watching a bird sing can really help you remember its song.  This guy cooperated with that too.  Seeing  the red eye is another thing.

Male American Redstart

American Redstarts are usually more cooperative than the vireo, but they can be tough sometimes.  I think their patches are more orange than red, but they are still beautiful.  This male (the female is olive with yellow patches where the male has orange) gave everyone a good show.  Except it would not stay still for Carole when she tried to photograph it.

Female Baltimore Oriole and Nest

We found this Baltimore Oriole nest, and soon the female showed up.

We had a really good morning with several different species, but what stands out for me was the great views that we had of a couple species.