I saw one of my holy grails of birding the other day...a male scarlet tanager...he was feeding on a birch tree in front of my house...I was so excited that I called a friend who immediately asked, "Did you get a picture?"....ummm...ooops....brilliant red contrasted with the dark black wings...unmistakable...its funny...I wasn't looking for it and there he was...and I realized after consulting my field guide that I have been seeing a female in the same tree feeding...now I"m glued to my window holding my breath waiting for the greatest of the holy grails....the ivory billed woodpecker...
