This colorful bird was a long way away yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and I assumed it was a Northern Cardinal, but I decided to photograph it anyways. When I was reviewing my photos, I was shocked to discover that it was an immature male Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra), a new species for me. Truth be told, I was not very certain what kind of bird it was, so I did some searching on-line and came up with the correct answer, as confirmed by some experts in a birding forum on Facebook.
I will take photos of anything that catches my eye, knowing that many of them will not be “keepers.” I will take photos of subjects that are really familiar and those that may be rare or unique. My general rule is to take a lot of photos, following what I call the Law of the Wild West, i.e. “Shoot first and ask questions later.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
What a beautiful bird! The scarlet red looks fabulous against that vivid green too.
So pretty!
Ours are hiding in the tree line, so you have more shots than me 👍👍. Beautiful birds.
Beautiful Mike. I’ve never seen one of those before.
Great shot!
Gorgeous, Mike! 👍👏
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Have you tried using Merlin ID app from Cornell University Labs? It’s very good at identifying birds from a (good quality) photograph.
I have used the Merlin App at times to try to identify bird calls, but have not used it with photos for a few reasons. Firstly, Merlin works primarily on cell phones and not on my computer. Secondly, most apps are not good with immature birds like this one, whose coloration is different from that of adults. I did use the iNaturalist website, which identified it as a Tanager and visually similar to both the Scarlet and Summer Tanagers. I find it better to consult with more experienced folks in on-line forums who can help me identify my subjects and explain how they came to those conclusions.
Such a beauty!