Scarlet Tanager in Constitution Marsh Audubon Center and Sanctuary, Garrison, Putnam County
It was on a very hot day in July 2017 that I visited Constitution Marsh Audubon Center and Sanctuary for the first time. It was also the first time I really got to see the bright red, male scarlet tanager. I remember it was not a very fruitful day birding-wise. Other than this scarlet tanager, I saw a swamp sparrow and a tufted titmouse, and that was pretty much it.
However, it was a very fruitful day bug(ging?)-wise. When I returned to the visitor center, its staff pointed to a flowerbed, and excitedly told me to take a close look at it. There was a Hummingbird moth! I didn’t even know there was such a thing that existed.
I took up this hobby of birding without much thinking, but it has guided me to try to know the landscapes around them and understand the bigger picture. Now I understand why many experienced birders I know are often extremely knowledgeable in other fields as well, such as plants, insects, amphibians, geology, local history, etc because they are all connected, in very specific ways I had not known before I started birding. There are so many things to learn that I don’t think I’ll ever get bored for the rest of my life.
