WHAT’S YOUR “SPARK BIRD”?
By Stevie Morris
Have you ever been asked this question? People who are not birders often wonder which bird sparked your interest (read: obsession) in birding. “Why so much interest in birds?” they may ask.
To explore this topic, Craig Merkel asked the “Birds & Brew” group to report their personal “Spark Bird” experiences. In the next series of articles, we will share their answers with you. We hope it will inspire you, too, to share your own “spark” experience for the Echo.
Kathleen Snyder, our BHAS Board’s Secretary and Volunteer Coordinator, writes that her “Spark Bird” is the Western Tanager: “I watched it fly by me at eye level in the Grand Tetons National Park and was enchanted. One summer after that, a pair showed up at my bird feeder. I couldn’t believe it and felt like I had won the jackpot… I was hooked!”
FUN FACTS: These birds can live for up to 15 years, and one banded wild male was documented to be at least 6 years, 11 months old when he was recaptured at a banding station and released once again. They migrate to and from the Western United States each year, and spend the winter from Central Mexico south to Costa Rica, as well as in Southern California.
You can listen to the Western Tanager’s rich song here, and enjoy its distinctive call here.
Share the story of the Spark Bird which “hooks” you! E-mail Stevie (Stephanie) at stephaniemrrs2@nullgmail.com
Photo credit: Male Western Tanager by Pacific Southwest Region USFWS (public domain), Female Western Tanager by Rachel Hudson.
