I was standing in the kitchen yesterday, pounding out some chicken breasts to bake for dinner, when I glanced out the window and saw a flurry of activity at the fountain. Needless to say, I finished up the poultry prep as quickly as possible and scurried outside to the back deck.

There were several Warblers splashing about in the water, but what caught my attention was a blur of bold colors darting in an out of the Japanese Maple. Turns out it was an American Redstart.

At first glance, I thought it was a male because the colors were so crisp, but it turned out to be a very lovely female. These birds don’t usually come to the feeders for food; they typically stay high up in the overhead leaves, taunting me from the treetops. They also tend to be skittish, but this gal clearly wanted a bath and braved her way to the fountain.

At first she hopped about amidst the cypress stump branches at the top of the fountain (which we put there for exactly that purpose), fanning and flitting her tail as she determined whether or not it was safe.

Then, she made her way over to the bird bath…

…and took the plunge!

In the shot below, you can see the pretty yellow patches beneath her wings as she took off for a brief bathing break.

Redstarts are a type of Warbler that look incredibly exotic to me.

I was so pleased that this beauty blessed me with a visit!

Now, if she’ll just convince her male counterpart, with his deep black and vibrant orange tones, to come along, I’d be absolutely thrilled!