[flatsqwerl]

I saw one of these today in the Swan Creek area in T-town. I have only seen them once before. They are very striking. Anyone else see these very often around anywhere in the NW?

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Yeah they are beautiful birds. Can't say I've ever seen one in Pugetopolis. I seem to recall seeing them occasionally around Leavenworth or the Teanaway or Ingalls Creek. Not recently unfortunately.

[mehitabel]

I've seen them on multiple occasions in the Teanaway and Salmon la Sac areas

[DigitalJanitor]

Frequently spotted in KittCo. This one randomly decided to hit the feeder right outside my kitchen window one spring. Love them.

[NacMacFeegle]

We sometimes get the down here in SW Washington. For several years there was one that would show up reliably every spring and sing in the tree by the corner of the house. Haven't seen him for a few years though.

[meandering Wa]

they are actually quite common in conifer tracts here in W Wa when you learn their call and song you will appreciate they are all around i live in downtown (old town) redmond and always hear one at my place in the season They sound much like Robin, but more halting and rusty. They also have a call which is often called the "prit a tik" http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Tanager/sounds I love getting lucky photographs. So often around here they are higher in trees. Hiking sloped trails where you can see out to tops is often good sleuthing. Many of the mixed tree edges you find on the east slope of the Cascades , along roads and trail , are good for seeing them a bit closer. when you learn the song and call you will find them more frequently

[RichardJ]

Here is one from the Washington Pass area. Wish it was in a more natural looking setting.

Western Tanager

[DIYSteve]

They are common and often conspicuous in most of WA in summer. We see a few dozen each year, usually starting with E-of-crest ski tours in May and throughout the summer on both sides of the crest and in the lowlands, including Seattle, e.g., Longfellow Creek trail in West Seattle. They are easy to ID by song. Following up on mW's post, Sibley describes the Western Tanager song as "reminiscent of a Robin" but different enough to distinguish the two. If you get only a fleeting look, the key quick field ID distinction vs. American Goldfinch is: Black back = Summer Tanager; Yellow back = American Goldfinch.

[RichP]

I heard these while walking a logging road near the Mountain Loop last week. My partner introduced me to their lovely and distinctive song. I'm familiar with their cousin, the Summer Tanager, having grown up in the SE US. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Summer_Tanager/id

[Gray]

I saw one years ago, when I first moved out here, and was living in Kirkland, over by Bridle Trails.

[lookout bob]

there is a lovely picture of a Western Tanager in this months WTA magazine....

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Just saw one yesterday at my parents' house in White Salmon, WA.

[rhughes]

I don't consider myself much of a photographer and less of a bird photographer and I don't much know birds, but I was messing around with my camera and a telephoto near our bird feeders and I got a couple of shots or what I think is a Western tanager.

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[meandering Wa]

yes that is a male