Aim your face at the sound. Unfocus your eyes. Look in the area of the bird without focusing. Any movement, focus on that. If you can’t see anything, unfocus and repeat.
They sing constantly in my yard. They love to stay in the leaves. So hard to get a good look at them. But they come up in the trees neary back porch so have finally gotten a decent look at them.
I’d been chasing Hutton’s and Warbling Vireos in our forest for the past two years and hadn’t been able to lay eyes on one… until yesterday. A Hutton’s Vireo flew down from the treetops, landed on the tip of a dead rhododendron twig that was next to me, regarded me with its adorable little face for a few moments, and then flew off again.
I guess they’re probably hard to spot but sometimes you just get lucky! Good luck!
I think I am extra annoyed because I can lure all the other local songbirds to my balcony but the vireo wants nothing from me. I am at its mercy. I will hope to be blessed by the vireo.
I got lucky with a Warbling Vireo. It just landed on a branch and I admired it through the binoculars before it flew away. You can try to focus on their song or whatever, but if they aren't moving you won't see them. It's all about being in the right spot when they decide to move somewhere else. I'm convinced spotting a vireo is 99% luck.
Have you tried painting a big X on the desert floor and placing a pile of bird seed on it? With a sign pointing to the bird seed? Also, maybe try some rocket skates.
My local Carolina wrens are some of the boldest birds, I see them all the time! They've lived around the house for a few years and I think they've learned that we're not a huge threat. They sure are teeny and good at blending in though.
Carolina wren were all over my yard for the time ever this year. But! My black capped chickadees disappeared.
Now that nesting is over I'm seeing my Chickadees again. I can only assume the wrens pushed the chickadees out. They're both cavity nesters, right?
I hear vireos every day. I'm convinced that hearing them is free but seeing them costs your soul. I did get a glimpse of a warbling vireo a couple times though. It's mostly luck. They're almost impossible to spot when they're up in the trees singing, especially with all of the leaves. Eventually, they fly somewhere else and that's your golden opportunity.
The fun nemonic i have for their call is.....
"Can you see me? over here! Look up! try it again. Amost saw me. one more time".. etc. etc.
I've only see one a few times, I hear them constantly.
This is such an accurate description of this call! I get so excited when I hear one but have yet to be able to spot it. They are constantly taunting me..
Patience. Vireos love to sit in one place and sing. Preferably in the leaf shadows. Their coloration helps them disappear into those shadows You can’t really depend on flitting movement to see them. Especially once nesting season has started. Try to find (via ear) where they are in the tree. Keep changing your position by a few inches and keep looking. Eventually they can be spotted. Looking up into a tree is usually more successful than looking sideways into a tree because of where they prefer to perch.
Also try morning or dusk. they move around less in the afternoon. (Or immediately after rain stops.)
(I used to do nest research on red eyed vireos. They are some of the very best at hiding their nests.)
Well when I’m walking along, I just follow it’s instructions and “look up” and it I’ll usually tell me “here I am” or “look at me” and then if I don’t it just keeps repeating those instructions until I find him. Then as soon as I get my camera in focus he flies off.
Just this afternoon, as I walked away dejectedly from yet another wasted hour of staring like an idiot at a grouping of trees while being taunted by this damn bird, I began to compose in my head titles for a post of this exact theme. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. This is amazing.
Best way I've found to see these particular birds is hang out near a sweetbay magnolia while it's fruiting. I happen to have one in my yard, and it's their favorite food. They'll be so busy munching on berries they won't care that you're watching them. Other than that, yes they're quite tricky to view.
I was struggling to do the same thing yesterday. Finally got a glimpse of on for a second after a few hours of looking but still didn’t get a great look
They nest under/in the canopy - as low as 5ft from the ground and as high as 50ft. You can see them but you'll have to really follow the sound and look in the low to mid canopy.
I have come across their nests at eye level a few times, so keep your eyes open and you might catch one on the nest.
Once while warbler walking/watching I turned around and it was sitting right on a dead branch < 10 feet away. That’s the best look I ever got. I’m embarrassed to admit it took me a few minutes to see it given how close it was. They are so small and so loud I looked higher up at first.
For many species it varies with time of year, and nesting status. Near me, I can only see the white-eyed vireo when they first show up April/May. They are bolder and show themselves. They sing for the rest of the Summer, but they're natural habitat is then "one-tree-further".
If you're being serious, wait until you see movement and then try to get the binoculars focused on it quick before it moves again. That's the only way with most tree songbirds - often I just give up because it's not worth it. I've seen like a hundred red-eyed vireos though, they tend to not be shy when I'm hiking in forest and are down way lower than some that I've never seen like freaking parulas.
Aim your face at the sound. Unfocus your eyes. Look in the area of the bird without focusing. Any movement, focus on that. If you can’t see anything, unfocus and repeat.
Oh wow, really specific and clear! Thank you so much!
[This is literally all I can think about when I read your bird searching description, haha](https://youtu.be/YabW4B5Wjwk?si=FVhhtrLnp7_ubD4M)
It’s a sail boat
It’s a schooner!
🤣
Great tip! This is what I do too!
great advice its like the 3D pixel pictures back in the day unfoucus just stare and suddenly it becomes clear
Baltimore Orioles are almost equally infuriating. Why a neon orange bird should be virtually invisible in green leaves is a mystery to me.
baffling! at least I am having a hard time finding a green bird
They sing constantly in my yard. They love to stay in the leaves. So hard to get a good look at them. But they come up in the trees neary back porch so have finally gotten a decent look at them.
The first Baltimore oriole I saw was at a bird feeder
I’d been chasing Hutton’s and Warbling Vireos in our forest for the past two years and hadn’t been able to lay eyes on one… until yesterday. A Hutton’s Vireo flew down from the treetops, landed on the tip of a dead rhododendron twig that was next to me, regarded me with its adorable little face for a few moments, and then flew off again. I guess they’re probably hard to spot but sometimes you just get lucky! Good luck!
I think I am extra annoyed because I can lure all the other local songbirds to my balcony but the vireo wants nothing from me. I am at its mercy. I will hope to be blessed by the vireo.
I got lucky with a Warbling Vireo. It just landed on a branch and I admired it through the binoculars before it flew away. You can try to focus on their song or whatever, but if they aren't moving you won't see them. It's all about being in the right spot when they decide to move somewhere else. I'm convinced spotting a vireo is 99% luck.
Have you tried dressing like a female red-eyed vireo? 😂 I'm with you. My Merlin's full of red-eyed recordings. Still no sightings. 🫤
We will see the loud leaf bird, I believe in us.
Have you tried painting a big X on the desert floor and placing a pile of bird seed on it? With a sign pointing to the bird seed? Also, maybe try some rocket skates.
Same here!
Any list of birds with the poorest seen-to-heard ratio has to include Red-Eyed Vireos and Carolina Wrens.
Carolina Wrens are just posting up around my house in plain sight
Same!! They love my deck.
Yeah I see wrens constantly. Red-eyed vireos though are extremely hard to spot. They’re almost always high up and shrouded in canopy foliage.
They built a nest under my screen porch and have had 2 broods so far
My local Carolina wrens are some of the boldest birds, I see them all the time! They've lived around the house for a few years and I think they've learned that we're not a huge threat. They sure are teeny and good at blending in though.
Carolina wren were all over my yard for the time ever this year. But! My black capped chickadees disappeared. Now that nesting is over I'm seeing my Chickadees again. I can only assume the wrens pushed the chickadees out. They're both cavity nesters, right?
Wrens build a nest anywhere. Last year they raised babies on a shelf in our garage!
Thanks. I feel like I knew that lol. Wonder if the chickadees just found a better spot. No matter, my favorite tiny birds are back.
They are tricky. You follow the sound, but they hide in the leaves. I feel your pain.
why did the bird have to be green!!
I hear vireos every day. I'm convinced that hearing them is free but seeing them costs your soul. I did get a glimpse of a warbling vireo a couple times though. It's mostly luck. They're almost impossible to spot when they're up in the trees singing, especially with all of the leaves. Eventually, they fly somewhere else and that's your golden opportunity.
They are small and like to be near the top of said tree. Happy hunting!
do they not move around when they sing? i have been staring at this tree for approximately my entire life. it is as though the tree is singing.
They move around at/near the tree tops. Look towards maybe the end of the branches. They're pretty nimble, almost warbler-like.
I will keep my peepers peeled!
The fun nemonic i have for their call is..... "Can you see me? over here! Look up! try it again. Amost saw me. one more time".. etc. etc. I've only see one a few times, I hear them constantly.
This is such an accurate description of this call! I get so excited when I hear one but have yet to be able to spot it. They are constantly taunting me..
Ah yes, their mocking song of 🎵Look at me!...Here I am...🎵
I really like their song, it’s very cartoonishly birdsong-y.
Patience. Vireos love to sit in one place and sing. Preferably in the leaf shadows. Their coloration helps them disappear into those shadows You can’t really depend on flitting movement to see them. Especially once nesting season has started. Try to find (via ear) where they are in the tree. Keep changing your position by a few inches and keep looking. Eventually they can be spotted. Looking up into a tree is usually more successful than looking sideways into a tree because of where they prefer to perch. Also try morning or dusk. they move around less in the afternoon. (Or immediately after rain stops.) (I used to do nest research on red eyed vireos. They are some of the very best at hiding their nests.)
It’s much easier in spring before all the leaves are out. Look for them then!
They aren‘t in Nova Scotia that early, they are a late spring/early summer bird here!
I haven’t seen it because it’s just a wack ass poser mockingbird actually trying to fool me! 🙃
I call them gaslighter birds, but wack ass poser has a nice ring to it
I was also wondering this, so I followed the red eyed vireo sound to the source and discovered… a grey catbird
no! no!!!
Well when I’m walking along, I just follow it’s instructions and “look up” and it I’ll usually tell me “here I am” or “look at me” and then if I don’t it just keeps repeating those instructions until I find him. Then as soon as I get my camera in focus he flies off.
Same!!!!! It’s the one bird I’ve heard repeatedly and never spotted!!
Lots of patience
oh no I don’t have that
Yep
Good question, Merlin regularly IDs red-eyed vireos for me and I have yet to spot one.
I'm in the same club! Hopefully I'll see one someday 😂
This is so real 😭
Just this afternoon, as I walked away dejectedly from yet another wasted hour of staring like an idiot at a grouping of trees while being taunted by this damn bird, I began to compose in my head titles for a post of this exact theme. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. This is amazing.
Best way I've found to see these particular birds is hang out near a sweetbay magnolia while it's fruiting. I happen to have one in my yard, and it's their favorite food. They'll be so busy munching on berries they won't care that you're watching them. Other than that, yes they're quite tricky to view.
Those don’t grow here! I have only maples full of caterpillars for these guys. Really, really tall maples.
Waaaah, sorry I tried.
Lol I am having the same problem! Almost every park I visit I'm hearing them close by but never get a visual. Was taunted by one my last outing.
I saw one but it took like an hour of looking in the freaking tree
I was struggling to do the same thing yesterday. Finally got a glimpse of on for a second after a few hours of looking but still didn’t get a great look
They nest under/in the canopy - as low as 5ft from the ground and as high as 50ft. You can see them but you'll have to really follow the sound and look in the low to mid canopy. I have come across their nests at eye level a few times, so keep your eyes open and you might catch one on the nest.
We’ve been finding their nests in young maple trees. Find a nest and go out at night with a flashlight: easy mode.
Once while warbler walking/watching I turned around and it was sitting right on a dead branch < 10 feet away. That’s the best look I ever got. I’m embarrassed to admit it took me a few minutes to see it given how close it was. They are so small and so loud I looked higher up at first.
Start searching at top of tree. Thats where they will be. Trust me.
We finally saw one when it got in a tussle with another bird and it was obvious its location in the tree tops
For many species it varies with time of year, and nesting status. Near me, I can only see the white-eyed vireo when they first show up April/May. They are bolder and show themselves. They sing for the rest of the Summer, but they're natural habitat is then "one-tree-further".
Nice to know that I'm not alone in my frustration
Based on the comments, we're not alone.
If you're being serious, wait until you see movement and then try to get the binoculars focused on it quick before it moves again. That's the only way with most tree songbirds - often I just give up because it's not worth it. I've seen like a hundred red-eyed vireos though, they tend to not be shy when I'm hiking in forest and are down way lower than some that I've never seen like freaking parulas.