May is a colorful month along the Colorado Front Range, as it is in most parts of our country. Here on our Littleton farm, color is provided by lilacs, blue flax, choke cherries, Oregon grape, a variety of roses and, of course, dandelions. And, during the middle of the month, we are visited by western tanagers, among the most colorful of our native birds.
Stopping by the farm on their way to the coniferous forests of the foothills and mountains, these songbirds are reliable and attractive visitors. The breeding males, decked out in a striking suit of red, yellow and black, are easy to spot as they move among our larger trees, chasing insects in the company of yellow-rumped warblers; they also feast on berries later in the season. Within a week or two, they will be off to the high country, where they and their olive-colored spouses, construct a nest of twigs, usually near the top of a spruce, Douglas fir or ponderosa pine.
Though the great majority of western tanagers winter in Central America, small numbers spend the colder months along the Pacific or Gulf Coasts and vagrants turn up almost anywhere, from New England to Florida. Wherever they may wander, we can count on a dozen or more visiting our farm in mid May and I look forward to their company each and every year.
