Top 5 Colorful Migrants To See Now On The Island
5. Indigo Bunting
If you see a bright flash of blue fly past and land low in the brush, chances are it’s a male Indigo Bunting. This species travels in small flocks with buffy brown juveniles and females, foraging for seeds on the ground. Look for them in Lafitte’s Cove on the West End, or in Corps Woods Nature Sanctuary on the East
End.
4. Scarlet Tanager
The males of this species are stunning in bright sunlight, with bright red and black plumage, and can often be seen perching in the open. Females are a dull green, with dark wings and tail. Look for them in scrubby areas in Lafitte’s Cove on the West End, or in Dos Vacas Muertas Bird Sanctuary on the far West End.
3. Northern Parula
Listen for the distinctive upward trill of this warbler, which it repeats from a perch high in deciduous trees. The blue-gray males are quite colorful, with yellow breast, orange and black necklace, and greenish mantle on the back. Females are similar, but lack the necklace. Look for them in the oak trees in Lafitte’s Cove
on the West End.
2. Baltimore Oriole
Traveling in large flocks, this species tends to create quite a stir when it arrives. Males are black above and bright orange below, with large white wing-bars. Females are greenish above and orangish-yellow below, with the same distinctive wing-bars. Listen for their chatter and look for them feeding on oranges in Lafitte’s Cove on the West End, or in Corps Woods Nature Sanctuary on the East End
1. Painted Bunting
Unbelievably colorful with bright blue, green, and red plumage, male Painted Buntings are on the top of most people’s lists of birds to see. Although not as colorful, females are bright green and quite pretty. Pay close attention to flocks of Indigo Buntings, as they sometimes have a few Painted mixed in with them. Look for them in Lafitte’s Cove on the West End, or in Corps Woods Nature Sanctuary on the East End.
| Painted Bunting | Dan Pancamo |
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Kristine Rivers
Kristine Rivers founded Birding for Fun in 2015, and is a popular tour guide and speaker whose enthusiasm for nature is contagious. A lifelong birder, she has been an area leader for the Brazoria Columbia Bottomlands Christmas Bird Count since 2011, and has been President of the Texas Master Naturalist Cradle of Texas chapter since January 2017.
