SNOWBIRDS DESCEND ON FEEDERS

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

If you noticed snow buntings at your feeders this past winter, you were not seeing things, and you definitely were not alone. Others saw them too.

Snow buntings got off to a rather slow start in the Quinte area earlier this winter. Then, like the arrival of a sudden snow storm, they fell from the sky, reeling in flocks of up to a hundred at a time, rolling and cartwheeling across the fields as they banked in orchestrated form from meadow to meadow. As though governed by a single impulse, they would lift off in a glittering white cloud in the sun, then almost disappear as they banked sharply, then reappear as the sun catches the flock broadside again.

Even to a snow bunting who seemingly thrives in wide open spaces where snow covered fields tend to accent the feeding flocks as they travel from field to field, a well stocked bird feeder must look pretty darn good on snowy days. Some have even succumbed to the temptation and have abandoned their wild and carefree ways, to accept the handouts at local bird feeders. It is odd to see a bird that is certainly more comfortable in cartwheeling flocks in the middle of large open fields, casually walking around on the ground beneath a feeder.

Keep your eyes peeled this winter as long as current snow conditions continue. If your feeder is near an open area, close to fields where snow buntings have been regularly feeding, chances are good you will have a few break away from the flock and accept some of your handouts. You probably shouldn’t expect them at the feeder itself though, but rather, perusing the offerings that spill to the ground.

Only three times have I had snow buntings at my feeder. During the infamous "Blizzard of ‘77", a half dozen or so fed daily from our sundeck as the field conditions were simply too severe for them to feed in the wild. In January of 1999, I managed to attract a handful of snow buntings to a feeding area at the end of our house, adjacent to a neighbouring field where I had seen snow buntings feeding regularly. Within a few days, the entire flock of over 90 birds began swooping in to whisk away the seed I had placed there. When field conditions improved in a week or two, the flock that I could now approach to within a few feet, abandoned me and returned to the more open spaces of the hay field. In a feeding frenzy of blues and reds, and sometimes yellows, it is a finishing touch when these pure white birds with the tan trimmings stop by for a handout.

Actually, one of the busiest "feeders" one can have is, in fact, on the ground where these snow buntings fed every day. Nothing is more natural in the wild, than birds feeding on the ground. Every morning, I am out before daybreak preparing my feeding area for the daily invasion of winter birds, some of which arrive before it is fully light. To light up the area so I can see what I am doing, I have installed a dedicated flood light on site which illuminates the entire feeding area, and with 28 feeders, it translates into a fairly busy spot, even on slow days. The entire feeding area is scraped bare of snow and when the job gets beyond the ability of a snow scoop, the snow blower makes short work of it.

It is here where the doves, some 60 strong, over 25 tree sparrows, the juncos and even those that traditionally feed from feeders, congregate to go over the day’s menu. And it is here where snow buntings will gravitate if they are so inclined. All this right outside my office window! My feeders have been truly one of the joys of working from a home office. To date, I have not been fortunate in having snow buntings check out my offerings. Likely, the area is too filled in now with our shrubs and trees. However, if they should decide to drop in, I will be sure to see them, and it will be a welcome break from whatever I happen to be doing that moment on the computer.