We saw several flocks of birds that were partially white and in flight the white patches stand out clearly. They may very well be snow buntings (photo). There are snow buntings in this area in the winter but photos I found on the internet do not look quite the same. The birds in the photos seem larger than what we saw. Perhaps these were redpolls but there seemed too much white present for that to be the case.
Unfortunately I have not yet seen these birds on the ground or up close. They are always at a distance and flying quite quickly.
The bird feeder has the usual visitors. First and foremost house sparrows but quite a few black capped chicadees these days and visits by red-breasted nuthatches are quite common. I am always on the lookout for a new bird but so far have had no luck.
1 comment:
That sure is a picture of a Snow Bunting. If you have Peterson's Field Guide, you'll find it in there as the "winter" plumage of the Snow Bunting. A perfect match! I was reading in one of the Sibley guides, I think, that the Snow Bunting's alternate/breeding plumage isn't a new set of white and black feathers, but merely its regular plumage with the color worn off. Great pic and great blog!
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