Rare birds arrive at Isle aux Morts garden

Cindy Ingram has been getting some interesting visitors in her garden as of late.

The Isle aux Morts resident has spotted three unique birds at her backyard feeder, which she's identified as a painted bunting, an indigo bunting and a rose-breasted grosbeak.

The birds are not usually seen in the southwest corner of Newfoundland.

The painted punting is the rarest of the three, as it usually inhabits the southern U.S. and Latin America.

"The last time it [painted bunting] was seen or talked about, it was seen in Stephenville Crossing in 2008, and in Bonavista Bay in May of 2010," Ingram said.

"This is only the third sighting on Thursday ... so there's only been three sightings of it in Newfoundland."

The indigo bunting breeds in southern Canada and the eastern U.S., while the rose-breasted grosbeak does occasionally visit the island, but only on an infrequent basis.

"As of Saturday, they've been there three days, but the last sighting was Friday at 2 o'clock," Ingram added.

A birdwatcher from Lewisporte got in touch with Ingram looking for more information on the birds.

Jared Clarke reacted when he saw Ingram's photos on social media.

"We had some communication and he had a few questions that I answered for him," she said.

Ingram said she didn't do anything special to bring the rare visitors to her yard, she just put the usual compliment of seed in the feeder.

She said any bird enthusiast who wants to try to catch a glimpse of the birds is welcome to drop by her garden.