By Sally Siko

Delighted to catch up with this handsome Painted Bunting while leading a birding tour in South Carolina this week!
It was so cool to get a close up encounter with this stunning bird. Usually they tend to stay about 20 ft away so I was surprised to actually be able to stand just a few feet from the bunting while he picked at unseen insects in the tree.

Painted Buntings are a spring and summertime resident of the coastal regions of the Carolinas.
During the breeding season, they are commonly found in thickets, woodland edges, brushy areas, and open forests with dense understories. They are also known to inhabit scrublands, hedgerows, and riparian areas just behind the sand dunes which line our coast.

These beauties are also known to visit suburban backyards so you might be able to attract them to your feeders if you fill the feeders with millet seed.
Millet seed is usually eschewed by other birds. This is nice because it means that your backyard Painted Buntings won’t have to compete with the rest of the backyard birds to get a meal.
Look for these gorgeous feathered gems near the beach or in your yard from now through September in the Carolinas.

Btw, I’ve got a ton of fun group birding trips in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maine and New Jersey open for booking from now through December.
Check out the calendar below and book your next birding adventure with me today!

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5