One of my favorite backyard birds is the summer tanager.  The male is Georgia’s only all red bird.  Unfortunately, I do not see summer tanagers as often as I would like.  In fact, I see more bathing in birdbaths than moving about the canopies of the numerous trees scattered across my property.  Fortunately, for the past few weeks I have been hearing them practically every day calling from the canopy of the numerous trees scattered about my property, their picky-tucky-tuck call is unmistakable.

       If I saw the birds more often, perhaps I would have better luck watching them capture wasps and bees. Tanagers catch these insects in flight.  When a tanager captures one of these stinging insects it lands and beats them against a branch and removes the insect’s stinger.  Studies have found that a single tanager may capture and eat 10-20 wasps and bees a day.

       If you just happen to see a summer tanager this summer, spend some time watching it.  Perhaps you will see the gorgeous bird capture and eat a bee or wasp. Now that would be something!