Paying extra attention to your feeders this time of year may bring glimpses of some breathtakingly beautiful songbirds that many Georgians rarely, if ever, see.
The birds include rose-breasted grosbeaks, blue grosbeaks and indigo buntings. Sporting their spiffy breeding plumages, they are migrating now from winter homes in Latin America to nesting grounds in Georgia and elsewhere in North America — and occasionally stopping at feeders to refuel.
Spiffiest of them all may be the male rose-breasted grosbeak, decked out in his vibrant black and white plumage. Making him absolutely dazzling, though, is a stunning rose-pink triangle emblazoned on his radiant white breast. For many people, seeing the male for the first time is an unforgettable, awe-inspiring experience. The female’s coloration is much drabber, mostly a streaky brown. Both she and her colorful mate may show up at feeders that offer black-oil sunflower seeds and similar morsels.
The male blue grosbeak, a cousin of the rose-breasted, draws exuberant oohs and ahs because of his deep, rich blue plumage, tiny black face mask, chestnut-brown wingbars and black-and-silver beak. He and his cinnamon-colored female mate may be attracted to grains and seeds at feeders in yards with shrubs.
The stunning male indigo bunting is totally blue. One of the most breathtaking sights I’ve ever seen in my DeKalb County yard was a vivid male blue bunting next to some neon-bright yellow male American goldfinches at a feeder. Both male and brownish-colored female indigo buntings may show up at feeders filled with hulled sunflower seeds and small seeds such as thistle and nyger. (Along Georgia’s coast, an even more brilliantly colored bunting, the painted bunting, may come to feeders, but it rarely appears inland.)
IN THE SKY: From David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer: The Lyrid Meteor Shower will reach a peak on Wednesday and Thursday of about 15 meteors per hour. Best viewing: In the northeast sky from about 1 a.m. until dawn.
The moon will be new on Wednesday night. Venus is low in the west just after dark and sets about an hour later. Mars rises about four hours before sunrise. Jupiter and Saturn rise in the east just after midnight.
