May 1, 2024 6:55 am
Yesterday I spotted several Indigo Buntings (Passerina cyanea) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It is probably more accurate to note that I heard the buntings before I actually saw them. Unlike recent warblers that I have photographed that seem to hide behind the leaves while they sing their songs, Indigo Buntings like to fly to the top of the trees in order to be seen and heard.
I really like the basic description of this species on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website:
“The all-blue male Indigo Bunting sings with cheerful gusto and looks like a scrap of sky with wings. Sometimes nicknamed “blue canaries,” these brilliantly colored yet common and widespread birds whistle their bouncy songs through the late spring and summer all over eastern North America. Look for Indigo Buntings in weedy fields and shrubby areas near trees, singing from dawn to dusk atop the tallest perch in sight or foraging for seeds and insects in low vegetation.”
The bird in the third photo has mottled feathers and may be in the process of molting, but I think that it is another Indigo Bunting. The only other species in our area at this time of year with equally brilliant blue feathers is the Blue Grosbeak. It is a little hard to tell, but it seems to me that the bill on the bird in this photo is too small for it to be a “grosbeak.” UPDATE: Some more experience birders in a Facebook group say that this Indigo Bunting is immature and/or in the process of molting, while others say this is a Blue Grosbeak.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted by Mike Powell
Categories: Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife
Tags: Canon 7D, Indigo Bunting, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Passerina cyanea, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA
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What a lovely bird with amazing color.
By kewtiebird on May 1, 2024 at 8:30 am
The blue is so intense that it looks a little unreal, but it really is that saturated. 🙂
By Mike Powell on May 1, 2024 at 8:34 am
Beautiful, Mike!
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By Mitzy Bricker on May 1, 2024 at 12:33 pm
They are so beautiful. It looks like it is singing.
By Lakshmi Bhat on May 2, 2024 at 11:56 am