FreeLists / va-richmond-general / [va-richmond-general] Indigo Buntings

["Jim Blowers" <jimvb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Today I saw all kinds of birds near our feeders. These include crows, brown
thrashers, blue jays, chickadees, white throated sparrows and a red-bellied
woodpecker. But then I saw a small blue bird that was quite striking - it
was an iridescent greenish purplish blue. I looked at it carefully with
binoculars and determined it was not a bluebird - no red. (a blue bird is
not a bluebird, in other words). Instead, it had a gray beak, darker color
in the head, a black eye, and dark wing and tail feathers. It was smaller
than the sparrow. We checked it in the bird books and found it was an indigo
bunting, a bird I have never seen before at our feeder. It seemed to be
ripping weeds out of the ground and eating their seeds. 

 

Have any of you seen indigo buntings this year? 

 

Jim Blowers