All-
Two separate and unrelated reports of INDIGO BUNTING sightings have been
made recently by folks here at VIMS. One sighting was by my wife (Mandy
Hewitt) on the Colonial Parkway near the Yorktown end this past Saturday -
it flew across the road in front of her as she drove. Yesterday a friend
and colleague (Troy Tuckey) asked me if it would be strange to see an
indigo bunting in his yard this time of year. I thought yes, and checking
Todd's list on Sue Heath's website indicates that it may be quite early.
Troy was somewhat unsure of the ID (he's decidedly not a birder, which
is why he asked), but he knows bluebirds and it was too small to be that...
and, in his words, it was a striking shiny blue. He's trying to get a
picture. My wife has been dragged along with me enough that i trust her to
know the difference between a bluebird and an indigo bunting, though i am
not sure whether she (or Troy) would be able to tell a blue grosbeak from a
bunting, especially at 40 MPH! I dont know which is more likely, a grosbeak
or a bunting - we get both around here. However, Troy's comments on the
bird's size (~10 cm tall) lead me to Indigo Bunting. There is not a clear
ID here, but my guess is that between the two sightings we have generated
an arrival for indigo bunting in the Gloucester/Yorktown area this past
weekend. I will post if we learn more.
Dave Hewitt
Gloucester, VA
---------------------------------------------
Dave Hewitt
Fisheries Science/Crustacean Ecology
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
The College of William and Mary
P.O. Box 1346
Gloucester Point, VA 23062
804.684.7333
dhewitt@xxxxxxxx
http://www.vims.edu/fish/students/dhewitt/
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