Date: 1/24/26 8:38 am From: keith_in_eg via groups.io <keith_ineg...> Subject: [pen-bird] PAINTED BUNTING in El Granada (private yard) Fri., Jan. 23, 2026
Greetings,
Yesterday morning, as I was standing at my kitchen sink washing the coffee pot, a small bird caught my eye as I was glancing out the window. My immediate thought was, “Whoa! That’s soooo green!” The bird dropped down from the bamboo and into the raised bed where I scatter seed on the ground for the sparrows. I quickly and cautiously grabbed a nearby pair of binoculars to get a look.
In the binoculars I immediately confirmed that this was not the Orange-crowned Warbler that has been a recent casual visitor in the yard. This bird was eating seed, was about the same size as a nearby White-crowned Sparrow, was bright green with no distinct markings with only a hint of a thin and paler complete eye ring. “Holy s—-!” was my next thought as I grabbed my camera and got off several shots through the double-pane windows of the French door. PAINTED BUNTING !!! was confirmed with my photo review. “Whoa!”
I cropped up an image and sent it to Chris Hayward for a reality check and second confirmation. “Yes!” was his reply.
The individual is a bright green female type. Bill is a basic conical seed-eater type and legs are dark. It was feeding on the ground with sparrows and I watched it for probably three minutes before one of the neighbors cats strolled along the top of the fence above it and everything flushed. The cats (unfortunately there are three of them) are the main reason I did not post the sighting to Telegram or invite folks to come by and try for a look. The cats hang around and move along the fence row all day making for long periods with no birds. I also have a young Red-shouldered Hawk that is in the mix every morning. It’s not ‘chaseable’ for these reasons. I did see it briefly in the afternoon between 14:00-15:00 when it came in for a drink and some seed.
Here is my eBird checklist link with some cropped images taken through the windows. It was overcast yesterday morning so the light is not the best. I’ve made no color or other adjustments.
This is a new yard bird and new San Mateo County bird for me so I’m pretty stoked!! Interestingly, Donna Pomeroy had a Painted Bunting in her El Granada yard on Jan. 20, 2026. She has previous eBird reports from Oct. 3-4, 2025 from her yard. She’s probably about 1/3 of a mile from my yard. Pretty neat!
