PABU @ BBP - FINALLY!

     A Painted Bunting has really been playing the part in downtown Brooklyn, bright-eyed, not a local by any means, took up residence in a very fancy part of town and holding it down. Probably hitting up some bougie brunch spots on the weekend with some hip song sparrows. Until it finds a mate and realizes that Downtown Brooklyn is not a realistic place to raise a family and that they really need to get back home, closer to their parents ... oh wait, we're talking birds here.
     Originally discovered by Heather Wolf at the end of December 2019, this southern bird has been attracting birders from all around and has been holding steady, thanks to the native grasses and other plantings that are providing it with natural and abundant food sources. Being a female or immature male, its olive green plumage allows it to blend in well to the grasses, unlike the very flashy mature males, this bird in its beauty is suited to where it has been frequenting as raptors are not uncommon.
     It was nice to see this bird, in comparison to the male that showed up in 2016 in Prospect Park, the contrast between the two plumages was very interesting to see. Although, get this "drab" bird in the sunlight, and holy smokes, it GLOWS. This bird is very beautiful and should not be disregarded just because it is not a mature male.
     I was lucky enough to enjoy it with my husband on a freakishly mild day, yesterday. In a sweatshirt along the East River, we were very comfortable and I bet this bird was too!

Tipped off by a friendly birder, we found the bird behind the berm it has been frequenting on Pier 4, with the BQE roaring behind us.

It was actively feeding, enjoying the plentiful seeds. It was very active flitting, hopping, stretching, and bouncing on blades of grass to reach seeds.

This also meant A LOT of open mouth shots with views of that little tongue that seems to do a lot of work in helping to manipulate the seeds into the best position for de-shelling and then crushing/consuming.

After thinking I was done, I went to go see if I could find another birder I ran into also searching for this bird. And it seemed that bird found them before I got to share the location. It flew over the berm to the other side, into the sunlight, looking like a completely different bird. It found a tiny puddle and took a giant bath.
It also stuck its tongue out!

That bill is so very interesting and well adapted for all those delicious seeds!

This tiny pool of water on an edging stone, seems so insignificant but it probably means the world to little birds in this park and a source for bathing and drinking.

Those colors!

And after your bath, you need to dry, preen, and get everything back into place.
An epic grooming session commenced, post bath. In a clear line of view!
A few of us were very lucky to enjoy this.

A mild day, 50*F, probably makes bathing a lot easier and more comfortable!

So glad to get this bird on my year list, time is ticking, just about 2 months to go before our baby bird arrives. Managing time,  work, needs around our home, the mounting appointments, and our personal interests is getting harder. Practice, I suppose for whats to come.