Blue Grosbeak at Chincoteague

We pulled into a parking area in Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge beside the road to look down into the water where the egrets had congregated earlier in the morning. There were a few left that we had spotted. Then we notice a splash of color in the grass. I had the advantage - being in the passenger seat with my camera already in my hand. I rolled down the window and started taking pictures. The door helped steady by hold on the camera as I increased the magnification. After the two birds flew a short distance further way, I was able to get out of the car and follow for a few more minutes of picture taking.

As I took pictures, I thought the birds were indigo buntings. There had been pictures in the Refuge’s visitor center that I remembered from the previous day. An hour later when we were in back in the visitor center, I was not so sure. The blue grosbeak looked pretty similar. I could not be sure on the small screen of the camera and I had not looked at the birds with the binoculars; the beak would have been the key indicator if I suspected the issue while the bird was within sight.

When I got home, I used the All About Birds site while looking at the pictures on a larger screen. Confirmed - it was a blue grosbeak pair! And they were a lot prettier than the vultures I posted about previously.