Painted Bunting and Friends

I have been trying to practice a little wildlife photography recently. And where I live, that pretty much means birds or deer. So, I walked around the refuge on a cloudy Sunday afternoon and hoped for a little light to make it through the clouds. I chose the Balcones Canyonlands Wildlife Refuge because at this time of year the place is often filled with birds and I thought I might get lucky. And after hiking around a bit I came to an area that was chirping with birds, but I was facing the sun which mainly means bird silhouettes. So, I hiked on past this area and then turned around and headed back with the sun behind me. This made it easy to see some male Painted Buntings sitting high in the trees, probably keeping an eye on me.

The Painted Bunting is a colorful songbird that is common to central Texas and the males are known for pastel colored feathers with blue heads, green backs, and red-orange bellies. They are really one of the most beautiful little birds around and it is always fun to see them. The little guy above sat atop this tree as I took a few photos, crept forward and took a few more photos, and repeat. Things were going well until a Northern Cardinal decided that he wanted the Painted Bunting’s perch. This all happened while I was shooting so I caught 3 consecutive frames that show the Painted Bunting seeing the Cardinal, the Cardinal swooping and the Painted Bunting flying away, and the Cardinal on his stolen perch. See the gallery below.

Near the tree where the male Painted Bunting sat watch, was his partner in a lower tree perhaps tending a nest. She did not go far from this tree and didn’t seem to mind me taking photos as she hopped from branch to branch. The female Painted Bunting is not as colorful as the male being generally green on top and yellow on the belly. This one had blue flecks on her head and looked quite pretty among the flowers.

I saw a few other birds, mainly Sparrows I think, and I tried to take some landscape photos as well but I think that this hike was for the birds. And now, for no particular reason, a duck I saw at a city park.

33 thoughts on “Painted Bunting and Friends”

  1. I think that bird who stole the perch committed a cardinal sin.

    The Painted Bunting looks like a beautiful bird. Unfortunately, we don’t have them around here. I like the colors.

    Great shot of the duck!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I didn’t really have anything else good from the duck shoot so I had to throw that one on to the end of this post.

      The duck had been preening for about 20 minutes and then decided it was time to flap the wings for a while.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. I see you got your post done before the end of the week. A nice surprise. Please send those bunting birds this way! Would love to see them in my backyard. Especially the male ones. Great pics!
    LOL at the duck fluffing its feathers for you. Good shot.

    Liked by 1 person

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