Spotting Painted Buntings at Celery Fields
On this day, I traveled over 100 miles to the Nature Center at Celery Fields, eager to catch a glimpse of the colorful painted buntings. A century ago, this area was nothing more than a swampy expanse of sawgrass. It once served as farmland, primarily for growing celery - hence the name. Today, the site is Sarasota County’s primary water collection zone and a thriving wetland restoration area, teeming with wildlife.
Luck was on my side and I saw not just one, but two painted buntings at the Nature Center feeders - a stunning male and a vibrant female. The male painted bunting is very colorful, with feathers in bold shades of red, blue, green, and yellow, while the female dazzles her own way in vivid yellow-green. Often called the most beautiful bird in North America, painted buntings are shy by nature, preferring to remain hidden in dense vegetation. They only venture out briefly to feed or, during the breeding season, to sing from the treetops in search of a mate.
While the painted buntings were the highlight of my trip, they weren’t the only birds that caught my attention. The feeders buzzed with activity, hosting a variety of species. Among them were brown-headed cowbirds, parasitic songbirds (females are muted brown); common grackles, lanky blackbirds with iridescent plumage and striking yellow eyes; and a trio of warblers—pine warblers, palm warblers, and myrtle warblers.
I also spotted the tiny and energetic Blue-gray gnatcatcher, a slender bird with a long tail, constantly flicking and darting as it searched for insects.
Overhead, a house of purple martins - North America’s largest swallow. They depend on human-made housing for nesting, and the Nature Center’s martin house plays a vital role in their conservation. Each week, Audubon volunteers lower the house to inspect the nests, carefully counting and checking the baby martins before returning it to its perch. It’s a fascinating process, carried out under the watchful eyes of surprisingly tolerant parent birds.
Florida’s long migration season, stretching from January to May, ensures that purple martins have ample time to arrive, breed, and prepare their young for the journey ahead.
