Oh my gosh! After 8 years bird feeding, this is the first year this little pretty has been lured to the garden.
He just arrived 5 days ago. .
Is Nebraska just a stop in his migratory pattern, or is there something I can do to keep him around?
Congrats. I have them at my feeders for the first time this year. I can identify 3 different males. When looking at pics I've taken of them, it's obvious they are picking out white millet from the songbird blend I am feeding them. Like most birds they like cover near their feeders and are somewhat shy, I'd not try to get them to mingle with a bunch of more aggressive birds like sparrows, jays etc.
Yes, NB is in their summer breeding ground. It extends all the way to Canada.
Here is a pic of one on my feeder and the white millet is clearly visible in his beak.
Congratulations annshaus!!!
John V. Dennis in A Complete Guide to Bird Feeding (1975, NY:Alfred A. Knopf, pp.124-5) has a short article about Indigo Buntings at feeders.
He suggests, as did, I believe it was reddirtretiree, that millet was their favorite, but that they have been known to eat "canary seed, peanut hearts, pecan meats, and, in the tropics, banana." He also mentions that they usually appear at feeders only during migration, but if you want to entice yours to "become a regular" for the summer, you might try some of the other "goodies" as enticement. Good luck. There's hardly a more striking sight than an indigo perched atop a bare branch, backlit with bright sunlight, which is how I saw my first one years ago. I've only had one at a feeder for a short time and it was during fall migration on a deary day when insects were scant. Enjoy him while you can, and good luck with enticement.
