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…