Buntings, Ahoy!

One of our banders, Lane, has just returned from a trip to Boston for her birthday. During various emails and conversations she has recently been lamenting the fact that she has never seen a male Painted Bunting. Only females. They are pretty but mainly green to nondescript. Males, on the other hand, are a brilliant rainbow of the animal kingdom.

While checking nets I noticed a bright red belly of a bird in net #9, a very popular spot for our Lake Lotus birds. I couldn't immediately tell what it was but knew it must be special. That color red is not present in resident birds.

The closer I got, the more other colors began to be noticed on this struggling bird. There it was: a male Painted Bunting!

I hurried back to the banding table in hopes that Lane was still there. Then I delivered her the belated birthday present and let her band it.



This place could be a Bunting bonanza. The other birds banded this morning, obviously, paled in comparison.