Caroline Cardile
Since we moved to South Padre Island 15 years ago, spring migration seems to be lasting longer and longer each spring. A few years ago, it was typical for volunteers to stop putting out food at the convention center and the lots on Sheepshead Street on May 1, because migration was over. In recent years, the end of migration has moved into May.
The biggest migrant surprise this year was the Flame-colored Tanager (Piranga bidentata). Most of these birds migrate from the mountains in Mexico to southeast Arizona, but occasionally they will visit south Texas. In early May, this beautiful female Flame-colored Tanager spent several days at the South Padre Island Convention Center.
The female Flame-coloredTanager is 7 ¼ inches long. It looks a lot like a female Western Tanager, except for its “streaked back, dark cheek patch, pale tips on tertials and tail, and dark beak” according to Peterson’s Field Guide to Birds of North America.
It was exciting to see this bird and add it to my life list without even leaving the island!