Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Indigo Bunting blue...

...do you even remember what that color looks like?

A bird of summer, the beautiful blue of the Indigo Bunting is breathtaking sitting amid green maple leaves.
An Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) in a sea of summer lushness. 
Summer colors—jewel tones of emerald green and lapis lazuli are easily forgotten in the gray and white desert of winter. I'm not trying to hurry winter along. I love snow, and we've had a lot of it this winter, which has been exciting, but seeing the saturated greens of summer has me thinking of what's to come...

Indigo Buntings return to our area and start claiming territory in fields and woodland edges in April. Not too far off...


Matty and I saw this Indigo Bunting on an early evening walk at Shawnee State Park in southwestern Ohio last summer. It was warm and insects and birds were singing all around us. We had spent the day volunteering with Jenny Richards, the incredibly enthusiastic and knowledgable naturalist at the park. After dinner we walked down the long drive that leads from the main road up to the lodge. This Indigo Bunting was singing in the trees at the woodland edge just off the road. He was singing so sweetly we had to stay and watch and listen.

...for a preview of the sounds of spring and summer, click here for a video by Lang Elliott (Music of Nature videos) of an Indigo Bunting singing! I've listened to it 4 times. It sounds so good...

14 comments:

Bob Bushell said...

Beautiful all in blue, love it Kelly.

Montanagirl said...

Beautiful shots, Kelly! I've seen the Lazuli Buntings here, but don't remember ever seeing an Indigo. They're a gorgeous color of blue.

Rick Forrestal said...

Great post.
Beautiful blue!
And thanks for the sound track.

Tammy@Simple Southern Happiness said...

I have only seen one of those, the blue is so beautiful.

Janice K said...

After all the snow that came down once again last night, "Thank you" for that breath of Spring. Sure hope I get to see some of those "little blue beauties" once again this year.

Carol E. said...

I live in NY on Long Island's south shore. I have only seen one of these beauties once and it was a breathtaking sight for me. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos and artwork. Fabulous!!

Carol E. said...

I live in NY on Long Island's south shore. I have only seen one of these beauties once and it was a breathtaking sight for me. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos and artwork. Fabulous!!

Julie G. said...

Stunning photographs! After that 8" of snow we received yesterday, I am delighted to see these blue beauties. They really are stunning birds ... their color, like no other. I am looking forward to spring when they return to our area. A most enjoyable post, Kelly!

Deb said...

such a stunning blue!
love the "music of nature" ♥

The Equestrian Vagabond said...

just gorgeous! We see the occasional mountain bluebird in SW Idaho, but not that bright a blue!
- The Equestrian Vagabond

E said...

Beautiful, nice brake for the white, hope we have flowers soon.
A big hug

Kelly said...

...thanks, everyone! There is more white in our yard, but I still am liking it. It's definitely better than the color-drained gray that normally settles in all winter around here, but still.........indigos and emeralds win!

Elaine said...

I love that first shot, Kelly!

Banjo52 said...

These birds are stunning. Sadly, my only experience with one was kinda sad. At Deer Creek State Park in Ohio, I saw the guy at dusk sitting on the porch that led into lodge. I took a couple of pictures, got maybe eight feet away, and he didn't move. I watched a while longer, my excitement turning to concern, when I noticed a white blotch on the stone behind his tail. He had . . . how shall I say? . . . soiled himself.

Hypothesis: he'd flown into the lodge's large sliding glass door and knocked himself silly. Eventually I turned away for a minute, and when I turned back, he was gone. I tell myself it was a happy ending.