Painted Bunting - Jewel of the Beach

Painted Bunting - Jewel of the Beach

Years ago, Mike and I pooled our change, took our baby on a whirlwind two-night beach trip, and stayed at a beyond-rustic little inn on Pawleys Island that would be swept away two months later in Hurricane Hugo.  (“Breakfast Included” at this place meant we got a Styrofoam bowl with some cereal and milk.)  On a car trip exploring the area, we somehow wandered into the back part of Litchfield Plantation and were attempting to turn around in the maintenance parking lot - when a flash of bright colors landed in a bush right in front of us.  “Mike!”  I exclaimed (if you can “exclaim” in a whisper), “Painted bunting!”  It was a life bird for both of us and was the highlight of that brief run to the beach.  We’ve been privileged to see a number of them since then.

Painted buntings are the jewels of the beach.  Their bright colors - blue head, yellow-green back, and red underparts - make the males unmistakable and unforgettable.  The females are yellow-green only, and though not as flamboyant as males, are still pretty.  These beauties used to be seen strictly along the coast and only in the summer, but their range has been expanding so that sometimes they are seen as far inland as Columbia (as well as expanding upward from Texas into the Midwest), and some are even staying year-round near the coast.  

You can find painted buntings at the beach, but you won’t find them while sunning along the tide line. Buntings like scrubby areas, so as you are taking your bicycle or golf cart ride or walking around your area, look for undeveloped places filled with brush and bushes.  With vigilance you have a good chance of seeing one in this habitat.  They also like to sing from exposed perches, so you may hear their lovely song from above before you see them.  Keep your binoculars handy.

A great place to see painted buntings in the summer - we have never failed to see one here - is at Huntingdon Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet.  Enter the park, cross the causeway, and take a left.  Check out the bird feeder at the observation deck on your left, across from Sandpiper Pond nature trail parking lot - that feeder is usually filled with white millet, a favorite of painted buntings.  Continue driving slowly down the road toward the beach access, listening for a beautiful trilling song and keeping your eyes on the exposed perches at the tops of trees.  On a hot summer day, you have a great chance of seeing one of these beautiful birds.

And, no matter how fancy or rustic the place where you are staying, if you are a bird enthusiast, finding one of these summertime jewels will be the long-remembered crowning touch of a beach trip.