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Finally saw a painted bunting at the feeder after waiting two years
I've been putting out seed for years and never saw anything more colorful than a cardinal, but last Saturday morning I was having coffee and this little rainbow bird just showed up. It was at the feeder for maybe 30 seconds before a mourning dove scared it off, but man it was gorgeous. My buddy Jason told me painted buntings are rare in our part of North Carolina near Raleigh, so I wasn't sure I'd ever see one. I had read online that they like white millet, so I switched my mix about 3 months ago and guess it paid off. Now I'm wondering if anyone else has had success attracting them with a specific seed or feeder setup? I'm thinking about adding a separate tray feeder just for millet to see if it comes back.
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ryantorres17d ago
Just switched to white millet too and got my first bunting within a few weeks.
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claire_gibson16d ago
Right, I read somewhere that white millet is supposed to be like candy for buntings compared to the red stuff. Drew55's joke about the dove is probably spot on, I bet that little bird is already telling its buddies about the good spot. It must be working seeing one that quick after switching. That's a pretty encouraging sign for the rest of us trying to get them to show up. They really do seem to love the white millet over everything else.
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drew5517d ago
Bet the dove is going to tell all its friends about the free buffet you're running. Might want to put up a little "buntings only" sign.
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