Thank you everyone for your wonderful emails. Several of you wrote me privately and this afternoon I wrote back to each of you. And just as I finished the emails, I looked up at my feeder, and...
The Indigo Bunting was back...!!
What an incredible surprise and thrill it was to see him again. And what a wise guy for faking his migration! :)
> On Apr 12, 2026, at 8:16 AM, C. S. Wood via CTBirds <ctbirds...> wrote:
> Nice, Chuck. Brightens up a hard winter, I’m sure.
>
> Chris
>
> Chris Wood
> Woodbury, CT
> 203 558-0654
> [1]C.S. Wood Photo Sampler
>
> On Apr 12, 2026, at 3:06 AM, Thomas Robben via CTBirds
> <ctbirds...> wrote:
>
> Chuck,
> Your love for this bird and others is plain to see.
> Thank you for caring. And for helping this little guy get through
> our difficult winter.
> And we are so appreciative that you continue your important role as CT
> Birds Moderator.
> Take care,
> Tom
> On Sat, Apr 11, 2026 at 10:08 PM Chuck Imbergamo via CTBirds <
> <ctbirds...> wrote:
>
> As most of you know, I have been hosting an overwintering Indigo
> Bunting
>
> since the beginning of February. I put my last record photos of him
> and
>
> notes from my sighting into eBird and the following is from my
> report:
>
> Monday turned out to be the last day of his amazing visit. He spent
> very
>
> little time at the feeder and was mostly seen sort of skirting
> around the
>
> area, only stopping at the feeder a couple of times that I saw. I
> managed a
>
> couple of photos in the morning, when he was in the bushes where I
> believe
>
> he roosted each night.
>
> I last saw him at around 2:30 in the afternoon, when he perched
> briefly on
>
> the nearby maple tree and flew over to the feeder but he immediately
> hopped
>
> back and did not feed from it. On some of the previous days' visits
> he ate
>
> voraciously and aggressively at the feeder and he definitely seemed
> more
>
> listless over the last several days. Now I know that he was getting
> ready
>
> to move back to his breeding grounds.
>
> I was so fortunate to see this beautiful bird each and every day for
> 60
>
> days. I got to see him transition from his tattered looking
> non-breeding
>
> plumage into nearly full breeding plumage. It's amazing when you
> realize
>
> that birds are individuals, struggling through their daily lives,
> and I was
>
> happy to support him through some bitter cold and even snow storms.
> I never
>
> let the feeder go empty and was rewarded with his visits – He
> brightened a
>
> very cold winter.
>
> I will miss him!
>
> Chuck Imbergamo
>
> CT Birds Moderator
>
> Madison
>
> Prologue: I will be checking eBird reports of Indigo Buntings with
> photos
>
> going forward – 'Indy' had a very yellow lower mandible which was
> visible
>
> even at a distance. I thought this would change as he came into
> breeding
>
> plumage but it did not. I hope that if anyone gets photos of an
> Indigo
>
> Bunting with this feature they will let me know; it might turn out
> to be
>
> him. I hope perhaps next winter he will come back and visit again.
>
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> References
>
> 1. https://www.flickr.com/photos/cswood-photos/albums/72157710313935571/ >
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