"I saw a blue bird in my yard and it was not my regular Bluebird," the caller said. "It was the most beautiful blue I have ever seen. What could it be?"

There are two birds that fit this description, but if it is smaller than a Bluebird, it’s the Indigo Bunting and if it is a little larger than a Bluebird, it’s the Blue Grosbeak.

The male Indigo Bunting is a rich deep blue all over and in sunlight the blue is iridescent. He is so blue, he seems to glow. The female is plain brown and rarely seen. I heard the Indigo Bunting singing his lively sweet-sweet, chew-chew song on May 1^st in my yard in Oriental. And it was music to my ears, as I had not heard his song since last fall when they migrated south to South Florida, Central America or the northern part of South America.

Only the male sings and sometimes he can go on for hours, singing in the heat of the summer after most birds have quieted. When the weather is hot he will move down from his early morning perch to more shaded areas and sing less vigorously. He is easily seen and heard as he repeatedly gives his song from exposed perches at the top of trees.

It is very hard to see the female and she will slip on and off the well-hidden nest for short periods without ever being seen. One feature of the bird’s behavior that may help you locate the nest is that if you are anywhere near it, the birds will give the chip-call, flick their tails and hop about.

The female does all the nest building and site selection. Nests take three or four days to complete. The male may accompany her to the nest site but does not bring nest material or help. The female lays three to four white unmarked eggs and incubation is 12 days by the female only.

Indigo Buntings will come to your feeder and seem to prefer the white proso millet. Once they discover a food source, they will become a regular visitor and are such fun to watch at the feeder.

On Saturday, May 13, Barbara Gould and I counted birds on the White Oak River for the Onslow County Spring Migration Count. This is similar to the Christmas Count that we do in Pamlico County. We were escorted down the River in a small skiff and enjoyed beautiful weather and gorgeous scenery. We saw numerous Great Egrets, two Tri-Colored Herons and two Little Blue Herons. We identified many birds by song as they were hidden in the bushes on the River. Our best bird and a life bird for both of us was a Mississippi Kite which glided by in the company of Black and Turkey Vultures.

Orchard Orioles try to sing louder and even more often than the Indigo Buntings. Look for them in the tops of hardwoods and also at your hummingbird feeders. Try listening before sunrise on these spring mornings to the morning chorus.Click here for the bunting song.

Mark your calendar for May 31 and we will look for nesting birds in and around Oriental and Whortonsville. Try to locate at least one nest to share with our birders. Meet at the Oriental Wildlife Ramp Parking Lot at 7:30. Call Liz Lathrop at 249-2646 if you plan to bird.