Lazuli Buntings do not belong here.  Ever. They live and breed in the West, and winter in Mexico.  They have been spotted in Massachusetts only two other times. This time the bird had the good sense to land at a set of well-tended feeders in a bird sanctuary where it was instantly identified, coddled and shown off to the maximum numbers of people who would appreciate it. Lazuli Buntings in spring plumage looks similar to an Eastern Bluebird with an all-blue head and back, white wing bars and a rusty breast. Named after the precious gem, Lapis Lazuli, this bird sports a blue plumage that will knock your socks off.   However, the one visiting Wellfleet is a first winter male and it is a drab fellow with just a hint of the coming “red breast” and bits of blue here and there among the gray/brown plumage.   Lazulis have conical bills like a cardinal and a sweet finch-like song.  They prefer brushy areas just like the part of the Sonoita Creek Sanctuary in Arizona where I once chased a pair of them for an entire afternoon before finally finding them.

This Lazuli seems to like Cape Cod and is expected to stay as long as the winter remains mild.  If he lasts until spring we could get a chance to see him in his fabulous blue plumage.  Stay tuned.

Closer to home, a “white-winged gull” was found on Duxbury Beach last week.  This one turned out to be a “first winter Kumlien’s Gull” which is either a subspecies of an Iceland Gull or a hybrid of an Iceland Gull and Thayer’s Gull.  All this is much more about Iceland Gulls than I can absorb but I do know the thrill of going to the beach in winter and finding a gull with all white wings.  There are several species in this group, so there’s your challenge, comb the beach and find your own “white wing.” 

There have been many reports lately of wrens.  Mostly Carolina Wrens, of course, but a birder found a lovely Winter Wren also in Wellfleet.

And finally, for a real challenge, find yourself a Fish Crow. They have been heard recently on the South Shore despite the early date.  I usually find (hear) Fish Crows around the parking lot at Hannafords. 

Happy birding!