I get the rainbow bird Lin.
We lived in Hobe Sound in Martin County which is just north of Jupiter about 10 miles. We grew up in Jupiter & saw the first street light hung in the town (actually it wasn't technically in the city limits then). It was hung on U.S.1 & it was only a blinking light. I'm 54 & DH is 63 so that will give you a good idea of how fast & how much Jupiter has grown. It was still a very small town when I graduated in 74 but you could feel the boom starting to happen.

This is the most beautiful bird ever.

I'm so glad it has it's own thread now. Thank you Becky!

PS --- the "female" painted buntings are green & have yellow underbellies but those are not ALL females. Actually the green ones are called "greenies" & they may be females or they may be immature males. You just can't tell. The immature males are the same coloration as the females. I have seen them going through the change though & they are funny looking. sort of remind me of clowns as they get small patches of the male coloration here & there.

Vic: I agree, the Painted Bunting is a beautiful little bird. I think it's one of the most colorful birds in Florida. We have the Indigo Bunting that's a bright blue, the Flamingo and Roseate Spoonbill which both are pink, and there are some wild Parrots with a little bit of color, of course the Northern Cardinal that many are familiar with ... but nothing quite as colorful as the male Painted Bunting with his rainbow shades.

Becky: Love the Painted Bunting in your earlier photo! I've never seen one in one of the birdbaths in the yard ... too cute and I wish my hair looked that good in the morning.

Ann: I know exactly where Hobe Sound is. I have a cousin who's been down there for many years. I'm 63 and have been in Florida since I was 19 and have sure seen a lot of changes in the state. When my husband and I were first married (1969) we lived in St. Petersburg and traveled I-4 back and forth to visit family in Orlando, only seeing a few cars on the interstate the entire distance ... then Disney came along and I-4 became a parking lot! Before Disney and all of the attractions, Orlando was a sorta sleepy little town.

Yep, the female Painted Bunting is a cutie but doesn't have the colors of the male:

Give it time Lin. The painted buntings taks baths as much as any birds. If you put a birdbath close to cover they will be more likely to use it. They are quite shy at first but they will become accustomed to you --- it may take a couple years but they will. After the 'canes when they finally began coming back again it seemed like different birds than the group I had before & it took till the end of the 2nd season for them to get used to us & not freak out when we stepped outside.

I love them.

Oh, they don't seem afraid when I go out in the yard if it's quiet and there aren't tons of other birds around, but if there's a lot of activity at the feeders the buntings will hang back in the shrubbery. I have feeders and birdbaths close to cover for the shy birds but I guess I've just never had the opportunity to see a Bunting in one of the birdbaths. I sometimes spot them in late December but it's usually early January through April and into early May that they visit my backyard feeders. I went back through my pic's and found two that were taken in October a few years ago so they are probably around more than I realize. There are always so many other common birds around (Jays, Thrasher's, Cardinals, Mockingbirds, Grackles, Doves etc.) that the shy little buntings probably don't like all the commotion at the feeders!

I wouldn't get a thing done if I had Painted Buntings to watch! Actually, when hummers and finches come to my balcony for water, I stop everything and watch.

Love the new photos Lin and Ann~

Many is the time I came close to burning something or having it boil over while watching painted buntings or hummers.
I've spent more hours with a pair of binnoculars stuck to my face!.....

For me, birdwatching is peaceful. I can sit and watch and listen to the birds for hours! I remember the first time I saw a hawk take a dove. I was a bit rattled but then thought awhile and realized there is a time, a season, a reason ... hawks are God's creatures too and must feed themselves and their babies. It's always a little sad when I see it but not as sad as when I see a free roaming cat kill a songbird. I hope the following photo doesn't offend anyone, this is a beautiful juvenile Cooper's Hawk that took a little dove in my backyard a couple of years ago:

I agree Lin. I think I love the hawks as much as the songbirds. They have their place too & they have their beauty as do songbirds. The Cooper's Hawks are magnificent. Very nice photo! I was unsettled the 1st time I saw a hawk take a baby blue jay but as you said.....

I would be sobbing. I think I'm a snow white at heart.

Well Becky, ....there's therapy for that!

LOL, I did cry the first time I viewed it, just like when I ran over a squirrel on my way to work years ago. I walked into the office bawling like a baby and everyone came running asking what was wrong. A few snickered when I told them I accidentally killed a squirrel but most were sympathetic. It wasn't the first critter I accidentally killed either. When my now 42 yr old niece was 3 years old she was in the car with me one day and I ran over a turtle in the road. For days (it seemed like weeks!) she walked around asking "Aunt Linda, why did you kill that "churtle" (her word for it.) There was another time I was going 70mph on the interstate in south Florida and saw something big ahead in the middle of my lane. There was so much traffic I couldn't get over. I slowed down because I had no idea what it was and at the last minute all I could think to do was aim for the center of the car in hopes the wheels would miss it. I was shaking as I ran over it ... a huge Gopher tortoise, and the wheels didn't touch it but it was so big it stripped bolts underneath my car. My husband was in the military at the time and a few weeks later I had to drive @350 miles from Miami to pick him up at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville. I told him on the phone about running over the big tortoise and he asked my brother in law to check out the car before I made the long drive north. Well, my brother in law doesn't know a lot about cars but he did take a look and said everything looked okay to him. When I picked my husband up he immediately drove to a repair shop so that they could put it on a lift and check it out. The repairman looked at me and asked "Young Lady, what did you run over?" Apparently the damage was so bad it was unsafe for me to be on the road. I've had a few instances over the years where I realize I've had guardian angels watching over me and that was sure one of them!

I love turtles as much as I do birds and we get little Florida Box Turtles as well as the Gopher Tortoise around here on occasion:

Florida Box Turtle that showed up in the yard this past April ... I fed it Bananas .... and a Gopher Tortoise that was strolling through the backyard

Gee ... I sure get OT easily don't I? I start out talking about Painted Buntings and end up talking about turtles! And, I guess I should mention that I know some people dislike Squirrels a lot but I even like Squirrels ... even when they do raid the birdfeeder's and steal all the seed and fruit I put out for the birds:

I love all critters. Hubby doesn't take me to petshops. I wonder why????

What you lookin' at?

Great one Becky! Ain't he puuurrrty? You just want to kiss them right on the lips!

Oh Becky ... that one is precious!