Red-eyed Vireo Alley

When you walk the Little Miami Bike Trail near the powder factory, there is one spring/summer visitor you will always hear, the Red-eyed Vireo. This neotropical migrant sings almost non-stop and has a call that is easy to recognize. Since the day the vireos arrived this spring, I have heard them every time I’ve been on the trail, no matter the hour of the day or the type of weather. You can also tell where one bird’s territory leaves off and another’s picks up, because the new owner is usually there to tell you. He has a happy call, and a fairly loud call too, “Look up!…See me?...Over here….This way…Higher still!”




The Red-eyed Vireo was one of the first migrant’s songs I ever learned. I had read that a Scarlet Tanager sang a lot like an American Robin with a sore throat. So when I heard a song reminiscent of a robin’s song one day I thought by chance it might be a Scarlet Tanager, but soon enough I tracked him down and found instead a Red-eyed Vireo! That was a long time ago, and I’ll always remember that moment of recognition. It made me feel good to have figured something out on my own. It also helped me realize the power of birding by ear. Luckily, I had the song cemented into my brain that morning because the bird went on to sing about 20 reps before flying to some other part of his territory.


This lovely summer bird never seems to tire. Even in the heat of a summer’s day at noon I’ve heard him piping out his little song. Recently, I read in Jim McCormac’s book, “Birds of Ohio,” that “a pair requires only about one acre of forest for their territory, so densities can be quite high.” This explains the non-broken line of vireo song I hear as I walk along the Little Miami Bike Trail and why the trail becomes “Red-eyed Vireo Alley” in the summer.