Indigo Bunting - 29 Apr 2020
I got a call from Anne Smith today that a strange Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was in her yard. It's head was entirely black instead of the bright red normal seen w/ adult males. I immediately thought Williamson's Sapsucker as its head is also all black. She sent an image for me to look at, but it was too far away to get any good diagnostics. I was left with the impression that it might be a Williamson's X Yellow-bellied Sapsucker hybrid (if that's possible). The white wing patch was thin and dark flanks were good for Yellow-bellied while the black head, black throat patch and yellow belly were consistent with Williamson's Sapsucker.
I would stop by her house to see if it would return, but it was a no-show. In the meantime I took a couple pics of her cats and a Cooper's Hawk that had buzzed the yard. I'd see White-breasted Nuthatch, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, House Wren, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet along with the FOY Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Baltimore Oriole.
27100 West Rd, Flat Rock US-MI 42.13800, -83.29807, Wayne, Michigan, US
Apr 29, 2020 6:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.2 mile(s)
7 species
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula) 1
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) 1
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) 1
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Apr 29, 2020 6:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.2 mile(s)
7 species
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula) 1
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) 1
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) 1
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
I returned home and immediately spotted an Indigo Bunting on the thistle feeder. It spooked as I approached the window and flew off to the hedges, where it spent the next 2 hours obscuring itself from view. It continuously frustrated me by staying away; it was spooked by the Northern Cardinals and all of the American Goldfinches.
Brownton Abbey, 26340 Higgins Way, Wayne, Michigan, US
Apr 29, 2020 6:30 PM - 6:40 PM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments: Yard
3 species
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 6
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 4
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
