{"id":113894,"date":"2023-06-20T01:20:28","date_gmt":"2023-06-20T07:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=113894"},"modified":"2023-07-03T08:49:20","modified_gmt":"2023-07-03T14:49:20","slug":"male-indigo-bunting-at-sequoyah-nwr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/06\/20\/male-indigo-bunting-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","title":{"rendered":"Male Indigo Bunting at Sequoyah NWR"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m thrilled with the photos I took of a male Indigo Bunting at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge<\/span><\/a> in Oklahoma yesterday morning near the Arkansas River.<\/p>\n

Why? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Because this species is uncommon in northern Utah and my only images of them there have been taken from long distances. I was happy to see them in Utah but I am over the moon with these images because the bird is much closer.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Indigo Bunting near the Arkansas River \u2013 Canon R7, f11, 1\/1000, ISO 1250, +1.0 EV, Canon RF 800 mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Every time I see an Indigo Bunting male I am reminded of the times I took my sons, William and Christopher, bunting hunting in Georgia and Virginia when they were children. We looked for buntings to observe, we didn’t cause them harm. Those are such happy memories that I can’t help but smile.<\/p>\n

I introduced my sons to birds and nature at a very young age. Both sons are still nature lovers to this day. William is getting into nature and bird photography now along with his wife Lisa. Christopher and his wife Sabrina also send me nature photos from wherever they are. I guess it runs in the family.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Indigo Bunting next to the auto tour route at Sequoyah NWR \u2013 Canon R7, f11, 1\/1000, ISO 1250, +1.0 EV, Canon RF 800 mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

My thanks go out to Steve Creek<\/span><\/a> for letting me use his R7 and his RF 800mm lens. He’s been terrific about sharing his favorite locations and his photo gear while I am visiting him, especially since the only cameras I have with me right now are my cell phone and tablet. I was having serious bird photography withdrawals before I arrived in Arkansas since it had been more than a month since I took any bird photos.<\/p>\n

Friends like Steve? They are as precious as gold. Thanks again, Creek.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Happy Summer!<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Indigo Bunting photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m thrilled with the photos I took of a male Indigo Bunting at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma yesterday morning near the Arkansas River.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":113886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,13046,13973,13974],"tags":[4004,14023,5576,13985,13984,4053,6530,13048,4062,13047,4104,165],"class_list":["post-113894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-indigo-buntings","category-oklahoma","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-adult","tag-arkansas-river","tag-auto-tour-route","tag-bottomland-hardwood-forests","tag-bottomlands","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-bunting","tag-indigo-bunting","tag-male","tag-passerina-cyanea","tag-perched","tag-spring"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/indigo-bunting-adult-male-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-0383.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-tD0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":128229,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/04\/indigo-bunting-male-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":113894,"position":0},"title":"Indigo Bunting Male At Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This image shows a male Indigo Bunting singing on a wild grapevine in the morning. It was taken taken earlier this week at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Indigo Bunting singing on a wild grapevine, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/indigo-bunting-male-sequoyah-grapevine-mia-mcpherson-3892.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/indigo-bunting-male-sequoyah-grapevine-mia-mcpherson-3892.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/indigo-bunting-male-sequoyah-grapevine-mia-mcpherson-3892.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/indigo-bunting-male-sequoyah-grapevine-mia-mcpherson-3892.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":130466,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/07\/12\/female-or-possible-immature-male-indigo-bunting-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":113894,"position":1},"title":"Female Or Possible Immature Male Indigo Bunting At Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 12, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"When I was at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge two days ago, I was thrilled to have this female\/immature Indigo Bunting in my viewfinder for a few seconds.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female or possible immature male Indigo Bunting on a log, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/indigo-bunting-female-immature-log-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0641.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/indigo-bunting-female-immature-log-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0641.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/indigo-bunting-female-immature-log-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0641.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/indigo-bunting-female-immature-log-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0641.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":158717,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/10\/01\/young-indigo-bunting-getting-ready-to-migrate\/","url_meta":{"origin":113894,"position":2},"title":"Young Indigo Bunting Getting Ready To Migrate","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young Indigo Bunting perched on a vine, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/indigo-bunting-immature-mia-mcpherson-9030.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/indigo-bunting-immature-mia-mcpherson-9030.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/indigo-bunting-immature-mia-mcpherson-9030.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/indigo-bunting-immature-mia-mcpherson-9030.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":119420,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/12\/31\/2023-thats-a-wrap\/","url_meta":{"origin":113894,"position":3},"title":"2023 – That’s A Wrap","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 31, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm breaking from my own tradition this year and simply calling 2023 a wrap. Typically, I share photos from each month of the year and write about my journeys.","rel":"","context":"In "American Robins"","block_context":{"text":"American Robins","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/thrushes\/american-robins\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Singing male Indigo Bunting at Sequoyah NWR, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/indigo-bunting-singing-mia-mcpherson-0368.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/indigo-bunting-singing-mia-mcpherson-0368.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/indigo-bunting-singing-mia-mcpherson-0368.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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