Young Painted Bunting – Surprise Visitor

There was a surprise visitor at my friend Steve Creek’s bird bath yesterday—it was a gorgeous young Painted Bunting that decided to spend some time in his yard.

Young Painted Bunting at a bird bath – Canon R7, f7.1, 1/640, ISO 1250, +1.0 EV, Canon 100-400mm at 300mm, natural light

When I first saw the bunting, I thought it was a migrating warbler. That was until I noticed the bird’s bill, which is too heavy for a warbler. A split second later, I realized that this was a bunting.

As far as I can recall, I’ve only seen a few Indigo Buntings in Steve’s yard and just one adult male Painted Bunting. They were all too far away to photograph.

Perched young Painted Bunting – Canon R7, f8, 1/1600, ISO 1250, Canon 100-400mm at 360mm, natural light

Thankfully, this young bunting was within reach of the lens I was using! I’m grateful the bunting returned to the vine after being chased away from the bird bath by another small bird.

I was focused on standing and photographing the immature bunting, unsure at the time whether it was a young Indigo or Painted Bunting.

Note: There’s time for identification after I get the photos I want. I’m not going to take my eyes or camera off of the bird until then.

Fluffed up immature Pained Bunting – Canon R7, f8, 1/2500, ISO 1250, Canon 100-400mm at 360mm, natural light

I took quite a few photos while the immature bunting was perched on this vine. The bunting gave us several different poses before it flew off again.

When I uploaded my photos to my external hard drive, I was fairly certain that the young bunting was a Painted, so I double-checked the ID on Merlin, the Cornell Bird App, to confirm my identification. Merlin suggested Painted too.

This young Painted Bunting was a very nice surprise for both Steve and me. I hope it sticks around for a bit before the youngster continues migrating!

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Painted Bunting photos plus facts and information about this species.