Painted Bunting in Douglas County Wisconsin on May 21, 2019

After hearing about the male Painting Bunting that was visiting a feeder for a few days in Douglas County Wisconsin I just knew, working on my state life list, this one I would have to try for. I made the almost 6 hour ride up there leaving about 7:00 am on a chance. After 2 hours into the trip I get a call from a friend that says, the bird has not been seen yet this morning! Maybe turning around is not the craziest idea they said, but obviously it was my choice? Well, I said I would continue on for another 15 minutes or so and re-think about what to do. Chasing birds is so darn exciting!! 2 minutes later my friend called back and the bird has just been seen. That was great news! I had just gotten a text from Amy the homeowner and she confirmed that and I gave her my ETA. I arrived at 1.00 pm at the residents and Amy was out to greet me as she was working on flower beds. I stood a good distance away from the feeder area, maybe 50′-60′. After 1.25 hours the bird showed up  and landed a few feet from the feeder on the ground. The Painted Bunting worked its way to under the feeder where bird seeds have fallen. After about 2 minutes the Painted Bunting flushed to a deciduous tree and then off into the woods. I was puzzled on why it flushed as I never moved while it was there. Looking at my images when I got home I notice a Song Sparrow came in near the Painted Bunting. The Song Sparrow caught the attention of something that possibly landed in the tree above as its head was looking up, the bunting looked up too and decided not to hang around and flew off. It was a beautiful day in Douglas County, with almost full sun and almost 70 degrees. Amy was a wonderful host and a big thank you to her for sharing the amazing Painted Bunting with the birding community. No question on why this bird is called the Painted Bunting! To think this bird is still hanging around, Amy said they had just gotten 7 inches of snow 2 days ago. Images were taken on May 21, 2019.

Note: The normal range for this bird is southern Nebraska and south.

The Painted Bunting, no question on why it got it’s name…

Painted Bunting

Painted Bunting still eating seeds…

The Song Sparrow comes in…

The Song Sparrow looks up into the tree above and the eyes of the Painted Bunting do too…

The Painted Bunting flushes due to the circumstances I would assume…

In the beginning……………….. when the Painted Bunting flew into below the feeder area…

Found a few things to eat on the way to below the feeder…

Getting closer to below the feeder where bird seed has fallen…

Pine Grosbeaks and Bohemian Waxwings in Vilas County Wisconsin on February 20, 2016

I have wanted for a long time to do some northwoods birding and today it happened. John D. Ryan S, Bill G and I headed for Vilas County in the north in the early morning hours. The highlight of the day were Pine Grosbeaks and Bohemian Waxwings near the downtown area off of 4th Street in Eagle River in a church parking lot. Both species feed in a berry tree at the same time. Both species also bathed in puddles in the parking lot. Both species put on a spectacular show for ~10-15 minutes before flying off. We worked hard for Gray Jays and Boreal Chickadees with no luck. The Pine Grosbeaks were the 300th Wisconsin state life bird for me, and what stunning birds they were! It was a cloudy gloomy day with temps in the higher 30’s most of the day. Light rain started late afternoon as we headed home. Images were taken on February 20, 2016.

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Pine Grosbeak, male

Pine Grosbeak

Binomial name: Pinicola enucleator

Category: Fringilline and Cardueline Finches and Allies

Size: 9” long, 14.5” wing span

Weight: 2 oz

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Pine Grosbeak, male

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Pine Grosbeak, female

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Pine Grosbeak, immature male

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Pine Grosbeak, immature male

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Pine Grosbeak, immature male (l), Pine Grosbeak, female adult (r)

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Pine Grosbeak, male

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Pine Grosbeak, male

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Pine Grosbeak, male

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Pine Grosbeak, male

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Bohemian Waxwing

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Bohemian Waxwings, bathing

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Bohemian Waxwings

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Bohemian Waxwings

Pine Grosbeak

Pine Grosbeak, female

Pine Grosbeak

Pine Grosbeak, female

Pine Grosbeak, male

Pine Grosbeak, male

Pine Grosbeak, male

Pine Grosbeak, male

Pine Grosbeak

Pine Grosbeak, male

Pine Grosbeak, male

Pine Grosbeak, male eating what I think are seeds from a pine cone that have blown down, snowed on, and as the snow melts the seeds are exposed and eaten by the birds

Pine Grosbeak, female eating a pine cone seed

Pine Grosbeak, female eating a pine cone seed

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwing

Pine Grosbeak, female

Pine Grosbeak, female

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch in Ashland County Wisconsin on March 15, 2015

6 of us, Mark K, Chris W, Ryan S, Brin, Derek S and myself made the long trip up this morning leaving Waukesha at 1:00 am with hopes to see the rare bird, the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch. We arrived at the private residence well before 7:00 am. We set ourselves up a distance from the front feeders about 7:00 am waiting for our guest bird to show with bins and cameras in hand. At 7:20 the first bird to arrive at the feeders was the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch. The bird ate plenty of sunflower seeds near the feeder before perching in a near by spruce tree. The bird remained in the spruce with nice views for the next 40 minutes. It then returned for more seeds and then again perched in the spruce nearby. The timing to see this bird could not have worked out better and the bird could not have been more photogenic. What makes this bird so very special is it is a western US bird that’s normal range is Colorado and west and into parts of Alaska and south to Arizona. This sighting is the 3rd state record for Wisconsin. What a beautiful bird and a life bird to boot for all of us!! What a fantastic day birding with great birders and friends. Also had the chance to meet up with a couple of great birders we have not seen for awhile. Early morning temperature was 38 degrees and cloudy. Also present Evening Grosbeaks and Pine Siskins. After that we took the 1.4 hour trek over to Superior and a try for the Gyrfalcon came up empty. The Common Eider was present at Barkers Island in it’s usual place with mallards. Many thanks to Ryan B for getting the information out on this rare birds location and thanks to the homeowners who shared it with others. Images were taken on March 15, 2015. Note: March 15, 2015 was the last day this bird was seen.

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Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch

Binomial name: Leucosticte tephrocotis

Category: Fringilline and Cardueline Finches and Allies

Size: 6.25” long, 13” wing span

Weight: 0.91 oz

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Back view

Back view

Side view

Side view

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At the feeder

At the feeder

At the feeder

At the feeder

At the feeder with a Pine Siskin, size comparison image

At the feeder with a Pine Siskin, size comparison image

At the feeder

At the feeder

At the feeder

At the feeder

At the feeder

At the feeder

At the feeder

At the feeder

In the spruce tree

In the spruce tree

In the spruce tree

In the spruce tree

In the spruce tree

In the spruce tree

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