Happy 2012! I hope the New Year brings many joyful sightings and plenty of Painted Bunting antics to keep you entertained! My apologies for leaving you without much news for the last couple of months – turns out my “elbow injury” was actually a fractured radius, resulting in 9 torturous weeks of not using my dominant arm! Thankfully, I am almost healed and hope to return to my usual rate of answering emails, posting blogs, and uploading photos on our Flickr page. In the meanwhile, I have been approving sightings on a daily basis and am happy to report that most of our Florida friends are finally enjoying visits from their Painted Buntings – thanks in part to cooler weather in the north that encouraged the stragglers to head for their winter territory. I’m always glad to read those euphoric reports of returning birds! Thanks, as always, for reporting your sightings and observations to the website, and for sharing your photos with us. I look forward to another excellent year for PBOT and the Painted Bunting!
I am so excited to now know what type of birds these beautiful creatures are!! I live in eastern Boca Raton, Florida, in a lovely old neighborhood (Old Floresta)that is richly planted with both native and exotic plant species. I have a pair of PB's that are camping out in my dense ficus hedge. I am a gardener and have a yard full of native plants that attract all types of creatures and also have mutiple water sources. In my Firebush tree, a Florida native, I have a tube feeder (not caged) which the PB's love. This tree is right outside my bedroom window and my children and I prefer to watch the tree instead of TV!! AWESOME!! This is in fact a very active tree, drawing many species of birds and Humming Birds!!. The female ( colored a very pretty green, whom we named Mrs. Green) arrived in the yard first, which was about 3 weeks ago and interestingly enough, she seemed to pal around with my male cardinal, whom I have named Big Red and who has reached "pet" status and totally rules the tree. I thought she was a finch. The two were always together. Then about a week ago a female cardinal arrived on the scene, but Big Red still seemed to prefer Mrs.Green. We first sighted the brightly colored PB male about a week later and immediately thought he belonged to Mrs. Green!! He likes to sit on one of my orchids which is getting ready to bloom and he looks amazing!! I am now going to hang a caged feeder and fill it with only milluet seed and watch what happens!!
So sorry you were injured, and glad you are healing finally Leah. We continue to have our Painted Buntings every day with sightings several times throughout the day. The most green birds I have seen at one time is 12, and 3 male birds. Like Mary Ellen said, our Buntings tend to take turns, some come to the feeder while others wait behind in the shrubs, then they fly in next. They are so tiny. I still marvel how they fly all this way with baby birds in tow, we all know what it is like to travel with kids !! We love having the birds, this is the 4th year we have had them winter here, but we have only been in our house for 4 years, so they could have been coming years before. Debbie Beracha, Pompano Beach (Ft Lauderdale), Florida. I love reading the other PBOT reporters' sighting reports too.
Hi Leah,
Glad you're on the mend. Now I know how it feels to be unable to grab those binoculars and "run" outside.
Plus I'm missing the Space Coast Birding Festival in Titusville. What rotten timing! :(
Twisted my knee after completely painting the house and putting away some last minute items. Knee brace and crutches for hopefully 3 weeks, but no more.
Our 2 males and 4-5 "greenies" have been steady winter residents. But yesterday we had the flocks of all flocks of Robins, Brown-headed cowbirds and Cedar waxwings. My husband couldn't keep the birdbaths filled with enough water. So are it's been a quieter Saturday morning.
I am sorry to hear you've been injured too, Leslie! It is so frustrating to be kept from your usual activities by injuries. I am still on the mend after 11 weeks, and long past ready to be back in full working order. I hope you heal quickly and easily! -- Leah
Hello Leah:
from Boca Raton FL backyard garden = location
When my husband & I returned this morning from a restaurant, we went to the kitchen to look for buntings at our bird feeder, because it is an especially cold day today. It was full of painted buntings, i.e. 5 blue/red/green/yellow males, and 4 greenies. 4 males were in the feeder, one male was perched on a nearby firebush; 2 greenies in feeder, 2 on nearby jatropha or hibiscus. All the buntings were in and out of the feeder; they dart back and forth (like P40 planes) from feeder to shrubbery; they like to wait for turns by perching on the nearby shrubs: jatropha, firebush, hisbiscus, and by perching on 2 nearby small metal trellises, and shepherd hook. We have water for them in a large clay saucer on the ground. This group of buntings arrived to our backyard in late October this year; buntings have been coming now to our backyard garden for three years. This year brought the most numerous grouping we've ever seen in/near the feeder. These buntings come every day, three times a day or more, to feed. Today was a cold day, a radical change in our FL weather in January. Wool jackets, and warm scarves weather. There are always the same other birds around the feeder daily: two mourning doves, here almost all day long; one male and one female cardinals, jays, mockingbirds, thrush, a Baltimore Oriole, 2-5 starlings (who are too big to get inside the feeder, yet keep trying to feed holding on for just 2-5 seconds to feeder's outside rungs. We feed all of them with a mixed bird seed we buy at Publix grocery store.
We love these buntings best of all. Mockingbirds next, and we love all birds, except starlings that are too aggressive. They chase other birds off feeders, the mourning doves are like watchdogs--they chase off the starlings that are on the ground under feeder. Buntings appear to have habit of taking turns: when other buntings approach feeder, the greenies will leave & perch nearby. And vice versa, the males will come 'n go.
P.S. Both I and my husband were observing the buntings together, and were flabbergasted when we saw the 5 males today. Glad to hear your injury has healed.
Sorry to hear about your elbow injury, Leah. Be careful that you don't injure yourself again. You're too valuable to the project and to us!!!
Here in Apopka, Florida (near Orlando), I'm up to 3 males and 3 greens, a record for me and since the season's young, I might even get a couple more! I battle daily with huge flocks of blackbirds (They love millet too) and have found the caged cylinders work best to keep them out. I also sprinkle millet on my deck and enjoy watching the Painted Buntings feed there. As you probably know, it's been unseasonably warm this year and although I'm not fond of cold weather, I'm looking forward to it as it brings the Painted Buntings to the feeders. Last year, I could set my clock by them. They were that regular.
Wishing all the PBOT volunteers a wonderful Painted Bunting New Year!