I'd Rather B Birdin': LAZULI Bunting

I hope now that we're back in the 'business' of sharing, that your New Year started with happiness and health. With the lack of getting out because of all the renovations being done around Anni's; finishing three rooms so far and beginning the huge livingroom this weekend, I am resorting to sharing some photos taken thru the cellphone from the bird photo portfolio that I had published several years ago for my own Texas Reference Book. In the last pages of the book, I have recorded where each bird was seen [location] and month/year. All the photos shared are from my camera over the decade plus of birding in my own vicinity. {number of photos are over 200, but I share just a few for now}....

From top to bottom:

Bobolink [rare]

Bobwhite Quail

Groove-billed Ani

Lazuli Bunting [rare]

Whooping Crane

White-eyed Vireo

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The past week meant two road trips to the islands and more specifically an area in Port Aransas that attracts migrant birds each Spring and Autumn. The reason we took TWO trips in two days was a bird on my list to photograph. The first day, not spotted. But the second day - and a rainy, dark, cloudy day at that...there it was. Right in the middle of the grasses so very near us. And shutter mayhem!!

Once again, this bird is not supposed to be in our area of Texas at all. In fact the habitat map shows only the very western borders of Texas being their boundary. The bird [and a beautiful male!!] is the Lazuli Bunting. [The search for pronunciation goes either way...LAZ oo lee OR LAZ oo lie] I think when we saw it, it was busy drinking the water from the rain-laden grass. Not sure. We didn't see any female which is a lot duller/browner than the male...but, I gotta say, he was even more beautiful than my bird guide depicts!!

LAZULI BUNTING [male]

photos taken: Paradise Pond - Port Aransas, Texas

habitat map: Lazuli Bunting

Then, over the weekend, while I was painting the living room walls, we decided to drive to the seawall because another vagrant bird was spotted. This time, a Sabine's Gull. So giving a bit of time to allow the first coat of paint to dry before applying a 2nd coat of paint, we left in hopes of spotting the gull. Which we didn't. After that short time, we drove to the park to check out the birds there. On this particular day we spotted a female American Redstart. Wherever there is a female, hopefully there is a male close by! And I must say, redstarts are just as difficult to photograph as the warblers...always lighting on a branch only to take off immediately...to get them in the viewfinder and snap the shutter can be a challenge.

AMERICAN REDSTART [female brighter yellow --and male, black & orange/red]
photos taken: Blucher Park - Corpus Christi, Texas
habitat map: American Redstart

Now, share your birding experiences:

§ From my book...

§ It's a Beautiful Boy!!

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