The Painted Bunting - A Trophy Bird

I am a trophy hunter. Although my weapon is not a gun, it is a sophisticated digital camera with a long, sharp, powerful lens. I don’t care for the word “hunt,” but that is what I am doing, as I patiently stalk birds or animals or sit for hours awaiting their appearance. I actually own a hunting blind but generally I use my Honda Pilot for that purpose. I dress in hunter camo clothes, when I am in the field, purchased in the hunting/fishing section of local retailers.
The trophy I was after to begin the New Year of 2019 was a songbird; the beautiful Painted Bunting.
The male bunting wears a coat of many colors. Male Painted Buntings are so stunning that they have been called "nonpareils," which means “having no equal” in French. The female is a beauty also, one of the few bright green birds in the wild.
Despite the male’s brilliant plumage, Painted Buntings can be hard to find. Their range is more limited than those of other buntings. They are shy birds that prefer thickets and brushy cover. Painted Buntings are a bird of the South, breeding from coastal North Carolina to northern Florida. They migrate at night and usually spend the winter in Florida and the northern Caribbean. So, when they show up in Virginia during winter, it is most unusual but a very exciting event. Sightings are so rare that the locations are not always shared as local birders, bird enthusiasts, and bird photographers are known to flock to these locations just to catch a glimpse of or to photograph these rare visitors.
I did actually have the opportunity to photograph some Painted Buntings at a local residence in VA Beach in 2018. That location was confidentially shared with me and I was able to return there again this year. But, I also did some detective work and found a second local private residence where the buntings were visiting this winter. This visit turned out to be very special as I was able to share it with a good friend and neighbor. Plus, it turned out that I had previously met the property owner!
It was cold and breezy when my friend and I arrived in Chesapeake that first week of January.  I was dressed in camo, of course. She needed an extra layer so I loaned her an extra jacket, camo, naturally! We looked the part of hunters; 2 silver haired ladies, one armed with binoculars and one with a big camera with a long lens! We sat down in a couple of porch chairs and waited for our “prey.”
It took over an hour in frigid temperatures but the magnificent bird suddenly appeared before us! Good thing we didn’t blink, or we would have missed it! We had about 25 seconds with it, then it vanished in the dense shrubs. We were cold but so happy! For we had been treated to the rare sight of the gorgeous Painted Bunting and I had a dozen photos to prove it: trophy shots? They may have been at the time, but now I just want to spread the great news that this special bird has chosen Hampton Roads to spend some time. And I thank these local caretakers of these amazing birds for allowing me and my friend the opportunity to spend just a few minutes with them.