The year-round Northern Cardinal is found all over Austin in our parks, greenbelts and backyards. The male likes to sing from conspicuous song perches, while the female builds their nest. Cardinals really like dense and/or berrying native shrubs. Consider planting a Texas mountain laurel, yaupon or possumhaw holly later this fall to attract them to your yard, or close by greenbelt or park. At this time of the year, it is likely that cardinal pairs are busy raising their second broods.

The Summer Tanager is also red, but is found in much smaller numbers than the cardinal. It is a summer resident that can be found in Austin’s leafier neighborhoods. While the males are red, the females are mustard/yellow colored, and the immature males are a mix of red and yellow.

Blue Jays are easily identifiable blue, white and black birds that often move around in family groups. These large, brash, noisy birds with crests will visit backyard feeders where they have a reputation for dominating smaller birds. (However, in one study, Northern Cardinals, which are smaller, stood up to them.) Jays sometimes mimic hawks when approaching feeders, which scares other birds off, although those birds usually return once the jay starts feeding. Did you know that it is thought that Blue Jays helped replant northern forests after the last ice age about 12,000 years ago? In the fall jays cache food for later consumption. They can carry up to five acorns in their throats and upper esophagi (gullets) and to select acorns without weevils. One study of six radio-tagged birds found they each buried 3,000 to 5,000 acorns in one season. They don’t re-find all the ones they buried, leaving the rest to sprout.

Look for Great and Snowy Egrets along the edges of waterways and ponds. A great place to see them is just downstream of the Longhorn Dam and at the river overlook in Roy Guerrero Park. The Great Egret is a little over 3 feet tall, and the Snowy is 2 feet tall. If the two are standing in close proximity the size difference is obvious. Look for the large yellow dagger like bill of the Great Egret, as well as its all black legs. The adult Snowy has a black bill, black legs, and bright yellow feet. (The juvenile Snowy Egret’s legs can be two toned – black in front and greenish up the back.)

You may also notice the feeding styles of the two species differ. The Great Egret is often stationary or walks very slowly, before it strikes amazingly quickly to catch prey. According to the Birds of the World the Snowy Egret has the widest “behavioral repertoire of all North American herons. Behaviors include standing, bill-vibrating (tongue-flicking), head-swaying, pecking, walking slowly, walking quickly, running, hopping, leapfrog feeding, wing-flicking, openwing-feeding, underwing-feeding, foot-stirring, foot-raking, foot probing, foot paddling, hovering, hover-stirring, dipping, disturb and chase, and foot-dragging.” In other words, it is very active, sometimes appearing frantic. Watching closely you should be able to see the yellow feet.

When flying, both Great and Snowy Egrets usually fly with their necks coiled. The Great Egret flies with deep wingbeats, about two per second and it has the longer legs. This is not to say that every white bird you see flying is a Snowy or Great Egret. At certain times of the year you may encounter Cattle Egrets (often in fields with cattle but also seen by water), White Ibis, and American White Pelicans. Juvenile Little Blue Herons are white too.

Our national symbol, the Bald Eagle, comes to mind when you think of patriotism. Summer is not really their season here in Austin, with most heading to cooler climes for the summer months. Until their return enjoy our red, white and blue birds.