We've heard several reports of male Painted Buntings appearing at our Florida friends' feeders again! These sightings are going to be sparse, but will continue to increase over the next couple of months. The peak of fall migration is usually in mid-October to November, but these "early birds" are a welcome sight to our Florida friends who have been missing their Painted Buntings. For those of you in Florida (and all along the migration routes) who haven't spotted a Painted Bunting yet, now is a great time to make sure your feeders are thoroughly clean and filled with white millet. If it's time for your end-of-summer yard clean-up, don't forget that Painted Buntings are attracted to dense vegetation - so make sure to allow some shrubs and smaller trees to grow a bit wild for your birds! Thanks for letting us know of your last sighting (for those of you in the Carolinas) and your first sighting (for those of you in Florida) during this important time - this helps us pin down the timing of this year's fall migration. As always, thanks for reporting your sightings to PBOT! -- Leah
Today would have been my Moma's Birthday, she died when I was 16. (A long time ago.) I think she sent me a Birthday present! My banded boy made it back and he brought with him today 3 other males friends! He looks a little tired and he has something (pollen) white all over the back of his head. I took a picture and captured all of them in it, the bad news is I could not find what my husband did with our close up lens. So not very good. Banded boy is on the feeder with his behind to us. I will send you the picture and maybe you can get it to zoom.
Hi Debbie - What a great gift from your Moma - three colorful male Painted Buntings! And your banded male at that! I look forward to seeing your photos and hope you uncover your zoom lens soon too! -- Leah
I am located on Middle Sound, a little North of Wilmington,NC. On 9-23-10 and 9-24-10 I saw 3 green birds and 3 males. I went out of town 9-25-10 and arrived home today, 10-5-10. I observed (and reported) 3 green birds and 1 male. One green bird was not banded - the other 3 birds were banded. The 3 green birds have completed molting and look really good. The male has a little way to go. The male is a mystery bird with a single silver band on it's right leg. - glenn
Hi Glenn - Thanks for continuing to report your sightings here at the end of the season! Although it seems that our birds are migrating a bit earlier this year, there are still many Painted Buntings in the Carolinas to be enjoyed! -- Leah
Saw our 1st Male this morning here in Rockledge, FL (just south of Kenedy Space Center). He joined a Greeny which arrived on Sunday. Here's hoping the pair are here for the duration...:-) It's been a long buntingless summer :-(
Hi Jim - We're just as happy to have YOU back as you are to have your Painted Buntings back! Thanks for the good news from Rockledge! -- Leah
Yesterday the first male painted bunting arrived in my backyard in Coral Springs, Florida, a few weeks earlier than usual. : )
Hi Tracy - Thanks for the update from Coral Springs! -- Leah
We still have a good number of green birds (13) and at least 2 males at Botany Bay Plantation, as of 10-3-2010. Observered a feeding frenzy today for about 2 hrs. 8:30am till 10:30am. Ran out of battery power for my camera so I packed it in for the day, maybe learned a lesson in charging up the battery next time.
Hi Leah, Time flys and here it is another season for us in Florida. I had just put up my feeders and fresh water today Oct.4th when I got a sighting of my first very handsome male painted bunting this season! He was staying in the bushes, I am so glad I got all that trimmed up weeks ago. They are early at my house here in Stuart. Need to bring the camera back out and dust it off and as always try to capture that perfect pose! I wonder if them coming down so early means you are in for a very cold winter. Hope Dr. Jamie can come and do some banding this year, really would love it if it was in my yard! Love to hear from some of my neighbors out there in South Florida on here. We can share these beauties. Enjoy all, and for all our fellow PB lovers up north as you sit by your fireplaces this fall/winter just remember that your birds are in good hands down in sunny Florida.
Hi Debbie - Glad to hear from you again! That's great that you got all your preparations in before your Painted Buntings showed up at your feeders. This does seem like an early fall migration - and if last year was any example of what is to come, we might just have another severe winter. We sure are glad to have all our Florida friends down there to take good care of our buntings! Looking forward to hearing if you spot your banded male again! -- Leah
Hi Stuart - Thanks for letting us know there are still Painted Buntings to be seen in the Carolinas! I hope, despite the low battery, that you were able to produce at least a couple of your beautiful photos from that feeding frenzy! -- Leah
Yea, first sighting for me here in Pompano Beach, Florida - Monday morning, October 4, 9:20 am. 1 male Painted Bunting sighted so far. Debbie Beracha.
Hi Debbie - Really glad to hear that good news from you! -- Leah
Thanks for the get-back Leah, but sadly for me, (lucky for you), it looks as if I'll be off till April, (except for an off-season question or two). Who knows though, I'm keeping a lookout for those ragged/molting males and also for greens, (green or gray), but still nothing since Aug 15. The millet is fresh. The water is clear. The caged feeder is still, (despite the Charleston sun), in shade 80-90 percent of the time and dense cover is within 15 ft. in a roughly 180 deg. arc. It is perfect but I suspect they are again early departed. Rest assured though, I'll bug you and Dr. Jamie, (he won't remember me but give him and all the UNCW folks my best), if I see anything. I did get that lone male in 2008 in February, so I'm ready year-round!
Best to all my PBOT friends everywhere,
Ray Swagerty----Charleston, SC
Leah and my fellow PBOT friends:
They seem to leave me in Charleston early. I don't know why. I have shelter/cover, shade, fresh millet, and fresh water. Here are the sighting stats. in a nutshell. 2010 had 74 sightings total whereas 2009 had 77. Just missed it by a hair. The last sighting of 2010 was a male on Aug. 15, and his absence perfectly matched nesting and fledging period for a brood,(2nd time this year). It was the only sighting for the month. The last sighting of 2009 was again a male on Aug 16. The last sighting of 2008 was once again a male on Aug. 10. Early-mid August seems to my departure date here on the lower SC coast for some reason. I have never noted a green during the month of August. Also I have never observed a banded bird. Good luck y'all down in Florida and take up our slack for the wintering period.
Ray Swagerty----Charleston, SC
Hi Ray - Wow, your boys do leave you early! There is a chance they are simply in hiding while they molt (they are particularly shy when they are molting), which happens in late summer just before they migrate. I'm surprised you haven't spotted a greenie in August though - they tend to stick around longer than the males. We are trying to acquire the funding to band Painted Buntings in Florida during the winter, which will improve your chances of seeing a banded bird on your property in the summer. PBs have strong site fidelity, so they tend to return to the same location each year - meaning banded birds go right back to where they were banded in the Carolinas, and don't often look for new territory (like your yard). But if we are able to band "your" birds at their winter residences, you will certainly be reporting banded birds the following summer! Thanks for your help and for sharing your beautiful photos this summer, Ray! -- Leah
We may have a great sight for banding birds at our location in Jupiter, FL. Our yard has a large wooded lot with plenty of low brush to the west and pine/palmetto woods to the south. We've been feeding the buntings for a few years but didn't know about PBOT until we decided to find out more about the banded greenie we've seen each year. (Can't wait to report that sighting this season!) We've added a few more feeders this year and hope to get an accurate count going to see just how many birds are really in our area. We've had 20+ greenies and 6-8 males at the feeders while others waited in the brush so this season should be interesting. Our birds usually arrive sometime in September, but this year we saw our first greenie on July 31st. We then had a single male almost every day of August. He even had a reluctant friend with him a few times who was too shy to come out of the small Oak near the feeders. It's been quiet lately except for a single greenie the other day.
Hi Bob - It does sound like you have a great yard for Painted Buntings, and your population numbers show it (that's a big group of Painted Buntings)! That is fantastic news that you have been hosting one of our banded green birds, and we can't wait to hear more about it! Thanks for joining PBOT! -- Leah
I live in Jupiter Farms; I think I may have sighted two females this evening around 6 PM or so; I made sure I refilled the feeder in the back yard for the morning. A mixture of alot of millet which they love; cracked corn & sunflower seeds. We have sliders off the living room & are "binocular ready"; last year there were nine at the feeder. They are not afraid of the larger birds.
Hi Ripalda - Thanks for the update from Jupiter Farms! With nine confident Painted Buntings at the feeder, you should have plenty of binocular fodder this winter! -- Leah
The greenie we have today is really rough looking. Molting feathers are flying off as we watch!
I am a little N of Wilmington NC at middle sound. 9-12-10. I still have at least 3 males and 3 green birds here today. I have viewed for positive a green bird and a male with one silver band on the right leg. The green bird was captured on the last banding session here. Band not reconized as to type of band. Hope to hear something soon. This might make an interesting story. best - glenn
Hi Glenn - Good to know there are still Painted Buntings in the Carolinas! Your partially banded birds do make for a good story - thanks for reminding me! Look for a blog about this in the future! -- Leah
it's fun to hear from other observers. please try to include your general location so other readers can get a bigger picture, especially since the birds are on the move right now.
thanks, susan
Hi Susan - Thanks for the suggestion! -- Leah
Have just had one green bunting on 9/9-stayed around for a day-then no more. Thanks to your blog we have our three feeders up and are hoping for more soon!
We have only seen a few males so far here in Wellington (Palm Beach County). They are having to dislodge a pesky rat from their dedicated millet feeder :) I think they have been coming to our backyard for years as we always kept a fresh birdbath ready in our small and slightly jungle like backyard. last year it finally dawned on me that i could feed them to get a closer view.
Hi Susan - As you may already know, "slightly jungle like" is a Painted Bunting's ideal habitat! Thanks for letting us know of your history with your Painted Buntings, and I hope you have lots of success in your second year of feeding them! -- Leah
Thanks for the early sighting warning !! I am excited for the Buntings to return, did not expect them yet, but will definitely get the millet on hand and get the feeders ready and be on the look out. We have a new 2-tube cage feeder I hope they like this year ! Debbie Beracha, Pompano Beach, Florida.
Hi Debbie - That's fantastic that you got a new feeder! You know I am a big proponent of multiple feeders, so let's hope your investment pays off with many more Painted Buntings! -- Leah
We continue to have a lone male Painted Bunting feeding in the morning and evening since 9/4/2010 in Ft. Pierce, FL.
I read your blogs yesterday, so I cleaned up the feeders and added millet. We saw 1 male Painted Bunting this morning feeding around 10:00am.
Hi Paulette - Right on time, it seems! Thanks for the good news! -- Leah
We have a greenie here in Fort Pierce, Sept. 3rd. '09 it was Oct. 3rd and '08 it was Oct. 5th.
Hi Cindy - That is early for your Painted Buntings - a whole month early! Thanks for letting us know! -- Leah
I have 3 "ugly" males in my back yard on 9-3-10. Middle sound @ Ogden - glenn
Hi Glenn - Thanks for continuing to feed your pitiful-looking molting males until they migrate! -- Leah
Saw two females this afternoon after rain shower. Will get feeder ready in the morning! (Hobe Sound, FL)
Hi Lawrence - That's great news from Hobe Sound! Thanks for letting us know! -- Leah
I've seen some greenies at my feeder on Amelia Island (Nassau County), in north Florida, over the last week. I suspect these are birds that have been here all summer. I have to say that I had to peer at them a long time to figure out if they were buntings or not. I'm not used to seeing juveniles, but I'm pretty sure that's what they were - sort of greenish with a bit of brown on the back. Characteristic "lean" and all.
Hi Kathy - Thanks for the update from north Florida! I bet you are seeing juvies! It can be a bit disorienting to see a bird the shape and size of our PBs, yet the color seems wrong - a drab, olive-brown with little hints of the yellowish-green plumage that we see on our green birds. The drab olive-brown plumage is very short-lived - soon they will molt into the more recognizable green plumage (at 15-35 days old). Glad you got a chance to see Amelia Island's juveniles before they head south! -- Leah
Where are the sightings this early in Florida?
Hi Leslie - We've heard from our friends near Lake Placid, Palm Beach County, the Fort Myers area, and in Fort Pierce (and perhaps others that have slipped past me). Most people are spotting males at this point, but there have been some green birds passing through. These sightings are probably going to be fleeting - these are likely birds passing through on their way to Cuba or the Yucatan peninsula - but they give our Florida friends a glimpse of their feathered friends who will be returning soon. Let me know when you spot one too! -- Leah