Painted Buntings are returning 12.2.13

I saw the first one a couple of weeks ago. This week we have 2 males (Painted) and one green which is most likely a juvenile male.

This one is sharing the feeder with a male Cardinal. You can just see the Cardinal’s head on the L. That plastic guard is to keep the squirrels from jumping from the Jatropha Bush onto the feeder.

The Cardinals are a very pretty bird, and spend most of the year here.

My “pink” and “blue” bee hives in the background. I am gradually moving the pink hive to the L end of the stand. That will make room for the Top Bar Hive on the stand between them.

Here’s a pretty little guy.

He’s watching me photograph him, and the slightest movement can send him flying to the Bottlebrush Bush.

Some have a bright lime green/yellow on their backs, like this one, on others it might be more orange. But the combinations are beautiful.

I can have my coffee and watch the birds at the feeders….the bees coming and going and foraging on the plants by the porch…and even enjoy a nice fire in the wood stove on a cool morning.

We usually have 10 to 15 Buntings come in. It’s fun to watch the young males molt and change colors. The females are green but have a brighter yellow belly.

In another month we might see some Indigo Buntings.