Beth Girdler

Her previous columns are archived HERE.

BETH GIRDLER

Farewell, Snow Buntings

Take a fist full of puffed wheat, hold your hand to your mouth and blow. Thus propelled, the wheat reminds me of the way in which snow buntings take off from the ground.

Snow buntings on the wing are always a beautiful sight. With the slate-blue winter skies as a backdrop, they fly in unison moving in undulating waves, tiny white birds flashing the contrasting black and white of their wings like so many twinkling stars in the night sky. If you are using binoculars, you may detect the slightly rusty tinge of their winter plumage.

Known as a sure harbinger of winter, the "snowbird" of Anne Murray's famous song arrives from the north with the first snowfall of October in flocks of 30 or 40 to a hundred or more. Often observed along roadsides and in stubble fields or barnyards, the sturdy little birds feed on grass, ragweed, and other weed seeds as well as waste grains. When snow buntings land they run instead of hop in search of food.

I love to watch them feed. As the flock gleans seeds from a field, those in the rear will rise in the air and leapfrog over those on the ground, landing just ahead to feed again. Once the flock has worked the field in this manner, the whole unit moves on.

In J.H. Struder's The Birds of North America, first published in 1881, the author describes snow buntings as follows:

"They are of a lively, frolicsome disposition, and seem to be in good humor even on the coldest winter days."

The characteristic winter call of these birds is a chorus of whistles and trills likened by American naturalist and writer John Burroughs to "the laughter of children."

Also nicknamed "snowflake," snow buntings prompt me to think of the other animals with which they share their breeding grounds - polar bears, Arctic foxes, snowy owls, snow geese, and Arctic terns to name a few. All of these animals sport white coats or plumage, camouflage against a snowy background. Many adopt a more mottled appearance during the breeding season to blend in with the summer tundra.

Breeding in Arctic regions of the world, snow buntings return to the north any time from late March to mid-April. At this time their diet changes to include insects, therefore taking advantage of the rich supply of mosquitoes and flies that attract so many bird species. Snow buntings have the distinction of breeding farther north than any other land bird.

In claiming their breeding territories, male buntings will let loose with a wonderful song which we southerners, unfortunately, will never hear. Courtship involves a series of elaborate performances. The now pure-white-and-black male struts his stuff, turning his back to the female and spreading his wings and tail feathers to show off his striking markings at the drop of a hat (or feather).

Just as we know winter is here to stay at the sight of our first flock of snow buntings, their return to the Arctic signifies the approaching spring to people of the north.

If you want to see this remarkable bird, drive down a back road and look out over open fields. Do it soon though, because March is upon us. This "lively bird" will be gone before you know it.

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