On this cool, cloudy morning at Phillips Lake Park, a trio of indigo buntings brightened the landscape. Having just returned from Central America or the Caribbean, they were moving about a lakeside meadow and will remain here in Missouri through September.
Other summer residents included a green heron, barn and cliff swallows, three spotted sandpipers, a noisy chat and a lone yellow warbler. Yet to head north were a large number of white-crowned sparrows, foraging in thickets that line the shore. An unexpected migrant (though not rare) was an American pipit, wagging its tail as it scoured the edge of a grassy pool.
But the indigo buntings were a special delight. Though they will be numerous on regional grasslands throughout the summer, this species has always brought back a nostalgic event from my childhood, long before I owned a pair of binoculars or had any concept of birding.
