I know that Scarlet Tanagers use chick-burr as an alarm call, though
that may not be the only purpose of that call. Four hours of alarms
seems excessive, though I suppose there could've been a hawk or owl
snoozing nearby.
Last year when the Taughannock peregrines just fledged, they landed
pretty close to the trail and allowed fantastic eye-level views. Seems
like they had not yet learned to be afraid of humans, and possibly
yours was similar. When it flew towards the crow, perhaps it was just
a function of the prevailing wind rather than an intentional
direction.
Suan
On Tue, Aug 2, 2022 at 8:02 PM wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> (1) Scarlet Tanager: for over 4 hours this afternoon, a female scarlet
> tanager chick-burred continuously (at least for the 90% of the time I was
> outside) 20-25 times/minute, while actively (and successfully) feeding and
> resting in small trees and shrubs. A few times I thought I might have heard
> a second distant bird but am not certain, and no other tanager came close.
>
> Why would she behave so persistently in a way that would be so attractive to
> potential predators? Scarlet tanagers breed here regularly but I don't
> remember seeing/hearing this before.
>
> (2) Peregrine: at 7 pm this evening, a dozen barn swallows started twittering
> loudly and persistently over a specific spot I couldn't really see, and soon
> 7 crows noisily came in from the south in response. At that point a juvenile
> peregrine flew overhead with the crows close behind. The falcon flew
> beautifully and easily could evade them aerially, and threaten them when they
> got too close, but eventually it landed in the top of a dead cottonwood tree.
> The tree was at the bottom of a 60' cliff and I happened to be watching from
> the top, so the bird was opposite me, maybe 40' away. At first it appeared
> not to see me and even when it did, it showed no concern. It stood there for
> ~30 seconds surveying the area, back horizontal, teetering in the gusty wind,
> and then seemed to slip sideways. It used its wings and tail to somewhat
> stabilize itself but then awkwardly slipped down to a slightly lower branch.
> It lowered its head and seemed to grasp something with its beak - a toe?
> something on the branch? - but slipped off that branch, too, and repeated the
> exercise including the mouthing toward its feet on a third much smaller
> branch. When it slipped/got blown off that branch, it circled around toward
> the crows, who had sat quietly watching all this on a second bare tree close
> by, and the entire company flew off around the point, and so I couldn't see
> them anymore. The contrast between its ease in the air and its clumsiness in
> the tree was striking.
>
> Ideas on what was happening? Is the peregrine ill-suited to perching on
> branches and the young bird was learning that? Had it injured it's foot?
> And why did it fly toward rather than away from the crows?
>
> Many thanks for your insights! Feel free to write to me and not the entire
> list.
>
> Best -
>
> Alicia
>
>
>
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