WINGSCAPES

A Very Real Bird Indeed

So bright is their coloration that whenever an image of a Painted Bunting is displayed, if there is any person present who has not previously seen or heard of them, one particular comment will almost certainly be heard: “That’s not a real bird; that’s an enhanced photo!”

Wingscapes BirdCam Photo Gallery contributor “K” from Amelia Island, Florida was kind enough recently to submit an image of both a male and female of the species. The green foliage behind the male gives a clue as to why it is colored as brightly as it is (to be visible to the females in their nesting habitat areas).

Painted Bunting Added to the BirdCam Life List

Dan, from the Nervous Birds blog points out an excellent feature of the BirdCam - the ability to capture images of birds that visit feeders while you're away. He was able to photograph this superb Painted Bunting. As these are the first Painted Bunting photos taken with the BirdCam that have been reported to us, it has been added to the BirdCam Life List.

Thanks Dan.

He writes:

BIRDCAM nabs a PAINTED BUNTING!

On December 18th (my birthday) good friends Bill and Gail from the Wild Bird Center store in West Annapolis called to tell me that a customer had recently seen a male PAINTED BUNTING on their feeders! I quickly called the homeowners to see if I could pay them a visit.

An hour or two later, I made my way over [and] they let me set up my BIRDCAM on one of their feeders, where they had told me that the bird had visited over the past two days.

On the morning of the 20th, I returned [and] managed to see and hear a lot of great birds, just no PAINTED BUNTING.

Around 8:30AM the next day, I returned to download photos from the BIRDCAM to my laptop in order to see if the bird stopped by.