Painted Bunting Vagrant
When I was in Huntley Meadows over the weekend, I heard some other birders talking about how there was a painted bunting at Great Falls in Maryland. A Google search showed several news articles about sightings of the bird, so today I thought I’d head out to see if I could spot it. Even early in the morning there were anywhere between ten and twenty birders crowding around on the tow path, waiting to catch a glimpse of the bird. You would think that such a brightly colored bird would be easy to spot in such a dead and brown landscape as Maryland in January, but he proved elusive every time he moved. I haven’t seen a good explanation as to why he was this far north; painted buntings usually winter in Mexico and the Caribbean. We followed him for a couple of hours, and I left just as a news crew showed up. Too bad it was a cloudy day, and my usual poor camera work is on full display. Still a neat sight for an otherwise dull January.
And a tufted titmouse cheesing for good measure.