While I was at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge late last week, I was thrilled to take photos of this young Indigo Bunting perched in vines in nice light.
Young Indigo Bunting perched on a vine – Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1/1600, ISO 1250, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light
I can tell this is a hatch year Indigo Bunting because of the yellowish, fleshy gape. I’d guess it’s a young female, since I saw other immature buntings of the same age with far more blue feathers that were probably males.
I haven’t seen an adult male Indigo Bunting for some time now, so I suspect they’ve already set off on their journey to their overwintering grounds.
Morning temps have been getting cooler lately, which means I don’t know how much longer the young buntings will hang around. I do know I’ll miss the Indigo Buntings while they’re gone for the winter.
It has been wonderful to see, hear, and photograph these beautiful buntings again. I missed them while I lived in Utah, having only photographed one vagrant individual when I was there.
Maybe I’ll have a few more opportunities with Indigo Buntings before they’ve all left on migration. I sure hope so.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Indigo Bunting photos plus facts and information about this species.