Lazuli Bunting Bounty

[nickinthegarden]

With the restrictions from the pandemic many people are rightly staying close to home. Since I bird solo and tend to mostly go to less frequented places I have had a wonderful experience viewing the birds along the Jesperson Dike. Some of the locals there told me I caught it a good time of year as very soon it will start to flood in the area and then the mosquitos and bugs will be pretty bad. I do not know much of the history of the area but it has become a stop off or possibly a breeding stop for the Lazuli Bunting. They breed a little west at Island 22 so it is certainly possible some do there also.

My most recent visit was possibly one of incredibly good luck as I saw at least 8 male Lazuli Buntings, never have I seen so many in one area. They were spread over a kilometer plus of dike, each having it's own territory. The full adults were out in the open perched on blackberry vines and other bushes and the first year males might hide lower in the blackberry vines or even inside the clumps. There was a lot of singing while I walked out there and there were a few visible on the way back a little later in the morning it was more quiet but I still saw a few. The farmer had just cut the grass in the last week and that may have driven them closer to the untouched ripe grass along the dike. The farmer was also spreading very fragrant organic fertilizer.

Here are just a few of my Lazuli Bunting images.

Full Adult Lazuli Bunting by Nick, on Flickr

A bit of a surprise. by Nick, on Flickr

Lazuli Bunting by Nick, on Flickr

Lazuli Bunting by Nick, on Flickr

A song and a snack by Nick, on Flickr

Just a reminder that these are birds and they have wings and they may have all moved on. Perhaps I was just fortunate to capture a moment in time.

[Gord]

Nick, these are excellent photos and a great experience. Thanks for sharing them.

[oldfulica]

Nice shots Nick. When were they taken? Dian and I were out there Sat. Morning (today) and didn't see any. We walked about 2 kilometers east. Were we in the right spot?

[nickinthegarden]

They were between the first large cottonwood on the southern side of the dike about 10 minutes down the trail and then over the next kilometer or so. I was there just before 7:00 a.m. and left around 9:00 a.m. It was suggested elsewhere they might have been a fallout and perhaps they have moved on. It was not as birdy with other birds as it had been when I was there on Sunday. Perhaps the farmer cutting all the grass drove them off to other areas. I can say that in seven years of looking for them that was the biggest amount I have ever seen in one area. A friend from the Okanagan said they are all over the place there now.