Summer tanager migrates the wrong way, delighting Vancouver bird watchers
VANCOUVER — Bird watchers are flocking to British Columbia’s Lower Mainland after a wayward summer tanager was spotted pecking at peanuts on a south Vancouver balcony over the weekend.
Saturday’s sighting was the first time a summer tanager has been recorded in the Metro Vancouver area, and only the sixth time for all B.C., said Melissa Hafting, who runs a rare bird blog.
“He’s bringing a lot of joy to birders in the area,” Hafting said in an email. “He has a small bill deformity but is eating very well.”
Summer tanagers typically winter from central Mexico to Bolivia and Brazil, and their summers are usually spent around the southeastern United States.