Quick identification
Scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea)
Spring males are brilliant red with black wings; females are yellow-olive with darker wings. Fall males become patchy yellow-green.
Season and local range: Spring and fall passage migrant.
Habitat and island setting
Tree canopies, native gardens and emergency coastal stopover cover.
Where to look
Convention Centre grounds, the Nature Center and Valley Land Fund lots are classic places when trans-Gulf migrants stop. Birds may move as tides, wind, fronts, water levels and activity at the site change.
What the bird is doing
Tanagers may descend unusually low when exhausted. A calm observer who allows feeding space often gets a better look than a moving crowd.
Watching birds
Use binoculars or a camera zoom, stay on public paths and leave feeding, resting and nesting birds enough room to continue normal behavior. If a bird stops feeding, stands alert, calls repeatedly or moves away because of you, increase the distance. Check access information in the South Padre Island birding guide before making a special trip.