Stoney Point - May. 11, 2014: Today was a beautiful day by Lake St. Clair. We did a little yard work, filled the bird feeders and enjoyed the afternoon by the lake. Literally within minutes of putting up the oriole feeder we had a hummingbird and a Baltimore Oriole stop by. We also saw a large number of American Gold Finches this afternoon - who have not been regular visitors to our feeder.

As the day approached dusk, Cynthia noticed a new visitor to the feeder. I quickly grabbed the camera and got a couple of shots of the Indigo Bunting. They are not great shots, as I was further away than I would have liked and I didn’t have time to adjust my settings to the lower light.

I sat in the yard for a bit, hoping to snag a better shot. As cute as our four year autistic son Tristan is, I learned that he is likely not the best bird-watching partner as he loves to run and make noise. While we never got a better photo, we did have some fun time playing on the grass.

The ROM Field Guide to Birds of Ontario describes the Indigo Bunting as frequently observed singing from a high perch during spring. The breeding male’s spectacular blue plumage is best seen in bright light; otherwise, he will appear uniformly dark. They are found in open deciduous and mixed woodland, shrubby fields, fence rows, orchards and rarely, residential gardens.

We will keep our eyes open to see if the Bunting returns, in hopes that we can get a better picture.