The Near Georgia Report* - www.neargareport.com - by Mark McShane: Western Tanager - Oktibbeha County Lake, Starkville, MS

Friday, April 22, 2011

Western Tanager - Oktibbeha County Lake, Starkville, MS - 4/22/11

Hi All,

An adult male Western Tanager was seen on the 22nd at Oktibbeha County Lake near Starkville, Mississippi.

The MissBird post from Birdingonthe.Net:
http://www.birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/MISS.html#1303490574

Good Near Georgia Birding!

Mark

3 comments:

AnonymousMay 2, 2011 at 1:03 PM
I saw an adult male Western Tanager in Oxford, MS this morning (May 2, 2011). It was eating mulberries, and singing constantly. The song matched a WT, as did the characteristic reddish-orange head grading into lemon-yellow, with dark wings.
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AnonymousMay 9, 2011 at 11:39 AM
A different male Western Tanager was in the mulberry tree in Oxford, Mississippi where I saw one last week (reported above). This one was also singing.
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AnonymousMay 19, 2012 at 3:46 PM
We saw a male Western Tanager, or a bird that looks exactly like a male WT, on the golf course in Tupelo this morning. We didn't think they were found this far east. Maybe a deviation from the normal migration?
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Georgia's first, and arguably the rarest bird to be seen in Georgia in the 21st century, also the most southeastern record for North America! Photo 2/2/08, only the 3rd U.S. record ever outside of south Texas! This immature bird showed up the week of 10/21/07 at the home of Marshall and Laurie Jackson in Dublin, GA, and was banded on the 29th. The hummer was last reported from the site on 4/4/08! The young male acquired much of his adult body plumage before departing! More, and even later, photos can be seen in the Favorite Georgia Birding Photos GREM sections! Photos by Rachel Cass. Click or tap on photo for last report.

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Captain Brooks Good and... Me !

8/7/10, Here is Captain Brooks Good still giddy with excitement after I had just passed on to him the grand sum of all of my seafaring and birding wisdom and knowledge! I thought this might take a while on the way up the Intracoastal Waterway to the Altamaha Sound but it looks like we only made it about 3 feet from the dock before it was all over?! What a fantastic trip and Captain, the thought of mutiny never occurred to any of us, and 4 of our target Long-billed Curlews were found! Click or tap on the photo for Brooks' Coastal Outdoor Adventures & Coastal Cuisine website, highly recommended. Photo by James Fleullan.

Wandering Albatross (WAAL)

Snowy, Tristan, New Zealand, Gibson's, and Amsterdam subspecies
Can wander 500+ miles a day, almost as far as a Georgia birder can!
Up to a 12-foot wingspan
Largest extant bird wingspan
May be almost 4 1/2 feet in length
May live 60 or more years
Eggs hatch after 2 1/2 months
Half of all albatross species nest in New Zealand
All of the great albatross species and subspecies are listed as Threatened by the IUCN, the decline of the great albatrosses is thought to mainly be due to the impact that longline fishing is having on the birds.