Gifts from the north country

  

It was a bit of soggy day here today (10 December 2024), but we spent a little time walking at Duxbury Beach (in Massachusetts) and encountered a flock of ~25-30 Horned Larks (Eremophila alpestris).  

I thought I could hear some Lapland Longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus) mixed in with them as they flew by, so I snapped a few quick photos and then we spent a little more time trying to find them when they landed.  (You can see at least four longspurs in the photo above.)

Conditions were tough for photos (distant and dark), but here's an example of a Horned Lark (first photo below) and a Lapland Longspur (second photo):

 

 

 

 

 

 

And when we were walking back to the car, we noticed some movement on the ground and were glad to see a few Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis):

 

 

 

It was worth going out in the rain!

 

Blending in

 

 

During an afternoon walk in Humarock, MA, we came across a large flock (>100) of Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis).  We saw them in different settings — resting among cobbles, feeding in the wrack line, flying over the salt marsh.  I'm still sorting through photos, but here are some my favorites so far:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter scenes

Winter scenes from the last few days in New England...

Salt marsh in Duxbury:

 

Snow Bunting habitat:

 

 

Frozen ripples in a stream:

 

 

 Icy sea dragon?  :)

 

Happy holidays, everyone!

Along the beach

 

My mom and I enjoyed a nice walk down Duxbury Beach (in Massachusetts) today, 23 December 2019.  A couple of small flocks of Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) crossed our path a few times.  They were flighty and active and tough to get photos of, but here are a few pictures for the record.

 

Four birds blending in with the sand and dune vegetation and with the afternoon shadows and light: 

 

A taste of the Arctic

A few more pictures of winter in New England before we head back to California.

Even though I had seen Snowy Owls earlier in the week, Eric wasn't with us that day.  So we went back to Duxbury Beach for a quick look and were lucky to find two owls.  This was one of our favorite views today:

 

We also spotted this Snow Bunting feeding on seeds along the edge of the road:

 

 

And then we saw a larger flock of Snow Buntings foraging in the drift line between the salt marsh and a small sand dune.  It was impressive to see how well the colors of the Snow Buntings matched the sand and the vegetation — white, grays, browns, and rust-colored tones.

Now that you've seen one isolated Snow Bunting, how many individuals can you find in the picture below?  (Warning: The answer is below the image.)

 

There are eight Snow Buntings in the picture above.  Two on the left, two in the center, and four on the right. 

And now that you're warmed up, here's a harder one.  How many Snow Buntings can you find in the next picture?  (Click on the picture to enlarge it.)

 

There are fourteen Snow Buntings in the picture above.  From left to right: one in the upper left, then a fairly tight cluster of seven, two just to the right of center (one above the other), a group of three at the upper right, and one in the lower right.

Although it would be fun to see a Snowy Owl or Snow Buntings on Bodega Head, I hope you've enjoyed this brief interlude featuring two beautiful species from the Arctic!

 

"Flocks of snow"

A few more photos from our afternoon on Duxbury Beach, MA, on 23 December 2013:

 

As the light was becoming dim at the end of the day, we encountered a large flock of Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis).

Snow Buntings breed on the high arctic tundra and generally winter across the central plains.  On the East Coast, the southern limit of their winter range extends to the Mid-Atlantic states; on the West Coast, the regular winter range extends to Washington.  They occasionally make it to California, and with a quick scan of the Rare Birds of California, it appears that there are about 6-7 records for Sonoma County.

The birds we encountered on Duxbury Beach were very active and challenging to photograph.  In fact, I didn't really end up with any good quality images.  But this is another species that I miss since moving to California and a few of the pictures are interesting.

Here's a close-up where you can focus on identifying males and females.  Note that the white wing patch in males is very broad, while in females it is much more restricted.  The black wing tips in males are also more distinct.  (There's a male and a female side-by-side in the very center of the photograph.)

 

And you know how much I'm intrigued by the challenge of counting flocks.  Unfortunately, this flock was restless and it didn't really give us a chance to make a satisfactory count in the field before it took off again and disappeared into the distance.  But I took a few quick photos for the record.

Here's one image that doesn't capture the entire flock, but comes fairly close (below).  It's fun to take a quick look at the image and to come up with a guess about the number of birds...and then to do a real count.  Want to try?  (Remember you can click on the image for a larger version.)

 

When my mother and I saw this flock in the field, we both agreed that there were more than 100 birds.  When using the picture above, two different counters came up with 171 and 172 individual Snow Buntings.  How many did you count?

Two more pictures, highlighting those black-and-white flashes and the sense of restlessness:

 

P.S.  Because there is so much white in their plumage and they often occur in tight active flocks, to some people Snow Buntings can look like snowflakes swirling around in the air.

If I was a...

When you want to find a certain plant or animal, it's often helpful to think like them.  

This morning I was working at my desk and I looked up to see a bunting perched in the shrub outside my window.  A bunting!  I hadn't seen one on Bodega Head yet.  I didn't have binoculars or a camera nearby at the time, so I decided to try to get a closer look outside.  I saw enough to know that it was either a Lazuli or Indigo bunting, but the bird flew away almost immediately.  I looked around a bit, but couldn't relocate the bird.

At the end of the day, I decided it would be worth trying again.  I thought to myself, "Okay, if I was a bunting, where would I be?"  I generally think of buntings in weedy or shrubby habitats, so I visualized the patch of habitat like that closest to my office and headed in that direction.

When I got there, I was pretty excited to find the bunting!  This bird was extremely shy, so it took several tries to get a photograph.  I didn't end up with any high quality images, but these pictures will serve as a record.

 

The next question —is this a Lazuli Bunting or Indigo Bunting?  This is a bit of tricky one for me, as I haven't seen Indigo Buntings in years, and I have very little experience with Lazuli Buntings.

I'm leaning towards Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena).  The field marks that I'm using include an overall grayer plumage, distinct whitish wing bars, grayish throat, a hint of a buffy breast band, and a relatively unstreaked breast.

Although not a great photo, this one shows the throat and breast:

 

And the photo below shows the wing bars and the tail (with some bluish coloration).  Note that the feathers generally look fresh, perhaps indicating that this is a juvenile bird.

 

I'd love other opinions about the identification of this bunting — either confirming it or suggesting another species.

  

Lazuli Buntings are considered rare migrants on Bodega Head.