It’s Tanager Time!
While allowing a brief tip ‘o the hat to our local band, The Tanagers, this short story is about their namesake, the bird family called the Tanagers.
We can expect to see three species of tanagers here in the Patagonia area: The Hepatic, the Summer and the Western Tanager.
Here at the Paton Center for Hummingbirds, we usually have a couple of Hepatic Tanagers in the yard, throughout the winter. But, as the temperatures warm up, they move on to higher elevations for nesting. They are then replaced quite appropriately by Summer Tanagers, several of which are here in the area now, and in fact, one pair has started a nest in the yard.
The other species, the Western Tanager, is a migrant bird that passes through the area, stopping for a while to enjoy some of the early berries on trees like the Mulberry we have here in the Paton Center yard.
While many great birds are showing up here at the Paton Center for Hummingbirds, it is always such a treat when these colorful birds are spotted. We look forward to your next visit and hope you see a few of these beautiful Tanagers as they also enjoy hanging out at the Paton Center for Hummingbirds.