Seldom Seen

April 27, 2025

This blog post title, it is not the bluegrass group, The Seldom Scene, it’s about a bird that I hear often but rarely get an opportunity to capture in a picture. The Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus).

Both male and female make a call that sounds like a Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) saying, “Myaaah!” The male sings a melodious song, that I use a mnemonic to remember, “Here I am! Where are you?!” Thanks to that mnemonic I’m able to know with great confidence that it is a Red-eyed Vireo singing that song from the tops of trees as he looks for insects.

Several years ago in what seemed like a moment of *magic* a Red-eyed Vireo nest was found in a Flowering Dogwood tree (Cornus florida). The nest was watched for a few days until the hatchlings fledged.

A super sighting.

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Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.