Where Were You Last Summer, Mrs. Blue?

Female indigo bunting in breeding condition, recovery band noted at Hays Woods, 25 August 2026 Last week at the Hays Woods banding station, Bird Lab captured a female indigo bunting who was banded almost a year ago, 9/6/2025, on the Canadian side of Lake Erie by Long Point Bird Observatory. Nick Liadis described her journey in Pittsbirder Chat which I’ve quoted below. Her history makes for an intriguing mystery. Here’s her map with two capture locations: Long Point (red pin) and Hays Woods (red circle at Pittsburgh) with speculation on where she spent the summer of 2025. At Long Point, Ontario in early September 2025 she was already an adult and was molting on a slightly early schedule. At Hays Woods in the third week of August she had a brood patch and was not molting yet. Data points for female indigo bunting at Hays Woods plus speculation on where she spent the summer of 2025 (marked up map from Google Maps. Pin drop is Long Point Bird Observatory) Nick describes what this means:…