Summer Tanager at U. Maine Presque Isle, May 7

Bob and Sue Pinette found a fabulous male Summer Tanager today at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.  The bright male was seen late in the morning along the foot path that winds down hill from the tennis courts at a point near where the trail crosses the railroad track.  Bob and Sue said the bird was quite confiding and  very easy to view.

Sue sent along two great photos of the bird.  Seen in the pics is the birds overall bright red plumage and thick tanager bill.  Unlike our breeding resident Scarlet Tanagers, the male Summer Tanagers have red wings rather than black.

Their normal breeding range being in the southern portions of the eastern US, Summer Tanagers are rare but regular vagrants to coastal Maine in spring.  This species is all but unknown in the northern half of the state.  I'm fairly confident that this is first for the county and certainly the northern-most record for the state.

It leaves me wondering what other southern goodies might have wandered north with the last storm system?...