Indigo Bunting

Back in June I encountered this Indigo Bunting hiking the "pipeline" trail at Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Many times when I see an interesting animal in a spot, I'll specifically look for it on future visits [1]. Most of the time I fail to re-find the animal; on this day though it paid off. The previous year I also found an Indigo Bunting in approximately the same spot. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this is the same bunting, though it's possible there's a small community of them living off this trail. This is clearly considered acceptable habitat by the local Indigo Buntings.

June 15, 2022 at Sourland Mountain Preserve
Photo 210219267, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


[1] I don't know if this is in general a good strategy, a harmless habit, or a futile distraction. Results have been mixed.

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