Indigo Bunting in Tuliptree


Cape May Warbler in Tulip Tree

Two photos by BARRIE RAIK
taken on May 11, 2010 during Steve Quinn's Tuesday morning AMNH walk

One of the last stops on Steve Quinn's bird walk yesterday morning was a Tulip Tree not far from the Balancing Boulder and the path to The Point. The tree was hopping with songbirds, including a Blackburnian Warbler almost at the tree's crown [as usual]

The photos above were taken by photographer and physician Barrie Raik, one of the long-time members of Quinn's Tuesday walk. She sent the photos along today as a memento of that glorious day and that amazing tree.


About the Tuliptree:

In just about my favorite tree guide of all, Edward Barnard's New York City Trees: a field guide for the Metropolitan area [Columbia U. Press], the author writes:

The tallest hardwood tree in North America, the tuliptree is the monarch of the magnolia family. Also known as the tulip poplar, the tuliptree can attain a height of over 150 feet with an absolutely straight trunk 8 to 10 feet in diameter and totally clear of branches for 80 or 100 feet...The pioneers used it to make dugout canoes and log cabins.

PS. In Barrie's first photo you can see the tulip-shaped blossoms for which the tree is named.