[Birdnet] Bunting Hunting

[Kristin Purdy]

Jack Rensel and I went bunting hunting this morning to see the INDIGO 
BUNTING that was singing along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail yesterday in 
Ogden, Weber County. To make a long story short, we saw the bird.

To make a long story a long story, here's the rest of it. We arrived at the 
spot at 7:30 a.m. to take advantage of early bird singing hours and to 
manage the light, because the views I had of the bird yesterday were toward 
the south and the light was harsh making the bird appear particularly dark. 
An early arrival would mean the sun hadn't topped the steep terrain to the 
east. We waited there for two hours without seeing the bird; Paul Higgins 
was also there about the same time and the bird didn't appear for Paul, 
either.

Jack and I took an hour break from the site and birded along the trail. 
Shortly after 10:30 a.m. when we returned, I heard the Indigo singing 
upslope. He had the decency to land right where he belonged, upslope from 
the glo pink tape with black polka dots that I left by the trail yesterday. 
Jack got a good, albeit brief look at the bird in the scope before the 
bunting changed perches and stayed only briefly at the second spot, still 
further up the slope. The distance from the trail to the bunting's 
consistent perch is perhaps less than 50 feet. The light was poor because we 
were facing uphill and southeast.

So Jack and I went a little further north on the trail and decided to climb 
the slope with the hope of better light on the bird with a better angle. I 
don't recommend this for many people. The slope is 45° for the most part 
with a few sections even steeper. We were using the knee-high scrub oak 
branches for handholds to er...resist the force of gravity and we both had 
scopes resting on our shoulders as we climbed. And then there was the 
rattlesnake, about a two-footer, that I first heard moving into the shade 
under the oak and then we watched for a little bit.

Anyway, we settled down on a comfortable rock and waited at least a half 
hour until I heard the bird singing in the same spot above the pink flagging 
tape. But for us this time, we were higher than he was and northeast of him. 
We had good light, got good views and Jack took an excellent digiscope shot. 
We even made it back down the slope without having to roll.

With my two experiences with this bird and with help from the literature, 
I'd recommend watching for this bird after it begins to get hot, rather than 
in the cool shady morning hours. Indigo Buntings are known for singing 
during the hottest part of the day, which is when I first saw him yesterday, 
and we didn't see him today until his west-facing slope was sunny and 
getting hot. Jeff Bilsky also noted he saw and heard the Elberta Indigo 
Bunting singing at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m just a week ago.

For directions to the site, see the post at the link below.

Kris

http://secureserver.securesites.net/pipermail/birdnet/2009-July/005428.html