[mou] Western Tanager, Woodlake Nature, Henn; Co.

[Conny Brunell]

This morning at 10 I got the look of a lifetime at the Male Western Tanager at Woodlake Nature Center, in Richfield, Hennepin Co.  It was on the East side of the park from the center off the main trail where you can go left up twords the gardens, or continue straight and the observation deck is on your right.  He was only about 5 feet off the ground out in the open so that I could see all the fabulous contrasting colors of the red head, throat, meet the deep yellow of the breast and around the nape of the neck.  The black mantle, and wings that were barred, yellow belly and undertail coverts.

The bird still had some mossy green on the back of the head, and under the chin was not completely filled in red, as was the middle of the belly not solidly yellow.  The bird did not vocalize, but caught a dragonfly and sat on a branch a few inches of the ground to take it apart while I watched it about 15 feet away.  The lighting was perfect not bright, so that the richness of his beautiful colors just glistened on this misty cloudy morning.

The sky has opened up at Woodlake and the Warblers are everywhere, but I wanted to come home and post this so that anyone else could get over to Woodlake to try and see this beautiful bird who paid us a visit here in Hennepin County.

Conny Brunell
Richfield, Hennepin Cty
connyb@mycidco.com