Indigo Bunting in Polk Co., Oregon

Today, just 20 miles from my home, I enjoyed one of birdings' chief pleasures: seeing and hearing a vagrant bird; that is, a bird that has for some reason strayed far from its normal range. This Indigo Bunting, rarely found west of the Rocky Mts., has established a territory on an Oregon hillside here in the Willamette Valley. The local Lazuli Buntings are not accepting his presence gracefully, but he continues to chase the males away from his chosen oak tree, and if singing is considered a good way to attract a mate, he should soon have one. Today a female Lazuli was hanging out in his tree, and that seemed to be okay with him.