ML619723488

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Today Tyler Warner and myself went up to Cabin Canyon in the Virgin Mountains to look for evidence of breeding for the Hepatic Tanagers that have been up there the last few years. Today we found two singing males at 36.6442507, -114.0705309 that were counter singing for a while. This locations is lower down in the canyon than the previous time I saw them in 2022. On previous visits by other birders to Cabin Canyon this year, at least 1 female has been photographed. So there are at least 3 different Hepatic Tanagers at this location. They sound SUPER similar to Black-headed Grosbeak (especially), Western Tanager, and Warbling Vireo, which are all also in Cabin Canyon. Using Merlin to identify their calls was almost impossible. It finally got the ID right after 8 different tries. Merlin identified the calls as either Black-headed Grosbeak or American Robin before it landed on Hepatic Tanager. The two males are identifiable from each other because one male appears to be missing some feathers on its chest/throat and on its belly, which looks like black patches. If anyone goes up there, definitely look for any signs of breeding activity. I will add photos of the two different tanagers later. Nearly all red except for gray cheeks. Dark gray bill. Singing half-way or up on the ridgeline from the coordinates above.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS REBEL T3

Lens

EF75-300mm f/4-5.6

ISO

500

Focal length

300 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/8.0

Shutter speed

1/640 sec

Dimensions

1585 pixels x 1057 pixels

Original file size

483.29 KB