We’ll never know the fate of the wayward painted bunting in Pittsfield that thrilled birders last month, but the story does have a happy ending.
Judy Hawley, whose property the bunting frequented, thanks to her generous supply of seed, thought the bird might be unusual. (We have some nice birds in Vermont, but nothing quite that colorful.) Fortunately she found eBird and reported the sighting. The rest, as they say, is history. During the next five days, scores of birders visited and dozens of photos were snapped. Bird chatter on the vtbird listserv and Facebook was at a high pitch. Reports of the sighting even reached national media outlets.
Through it all Judy gracefully welcomed birders to her property.
Birders as a whole are a generous and responsive group. As a thank you for Judy’s hospitality, birders throughout Vermont and outside the state contributed money to buy her a gift card for seed. It was delivered to her on Friday. We know she will put it to good use.
As Judy put it, "The beautiful little bunting not only brought himself for me to enjoy, but so many wonderful people I otherwise would have never met."
Also from Judy: "A very warm thank you for the extremely generous gift card, along with all the pictures you sent of the bunting and notes of appreciation. Your thoughtfulness has touched me more than I can say."