Friday, February 4, 2011

Snow Buntings up close

I had given up on getting close-ups of Snow Buntings when I read about large numbers of Snow Buntings and Horned Larks congregating on the parking lot behind an Agway farm store in Walpole, NH within a short driving distance from where I lived. The birds were hungry. Because of the heavy snow fall the snow plows were no longer uncovering soil containing seeds along the roads and the seed heads of grasses had long been buried under the deep snow that had fallen over the past months.

When I arrived there yesterday around 9AM I saw a small mixed flock of Snow Buntings and Horned Larks near some shrubs by the side of the store, but not the kind of numbers I had expected. When I asked the employee working in the store he obliged me by grabbing a scoop, filling it with sun flower seeds and scattering them on the lot in back of the store. He also pointed to a big flock of birds in the distance resting on a large snow-covered field that I had missed driving in.

Soon enough the birds started coming in and, eagerly gorging themselves on the seeds, they allowed me to get close enough for some good shots.









When disturbed the birds would flutter up to the top of a tall snow wall at the edge of the parking lot, but quickly come back as soon as it was quiet again.













I had shot a couple of hundred photos. So unexpectedly suffering from an embarrassment of riches it was hard to decide which ones to keep and harder yet which ones to delete.

Here are my previous posts on Snow Buntings and Horned Larks:

Thanks for visiting. Please leave a comment.

26 comments:

  1. Wow, these are all great shots. Love the closeups and what a cool experience. I am just dying to see the Snow Buntings. Lucky you!

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  2. I've still never seen a Snow Bunting! They are nearby, but I keep dipping on them. Great photos! I love the flight shots.

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  3. Beautiful! I have never seen Snow Buntings, have seen professional shots, so I knew what they were. You captured them really well, and wrote eloquently!

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  4. Lucky you and just adorable birds. Some really enviable shots, Hilke, esp. the flght shots. I got my first Snow-bees this fall and loved them immediately. They have such chubby wonderful little faces. Nice get!

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  5. Amazing capture, these are lovely birds I haven't seen before.

    As for the starburst effect in my photo, wide angle lens (15mm) and small aperture (f22). I had read about this years ago but didn't have the lens until Christmas,
    24mm was the widest I had and that didn't work.

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  6. Wow, they're beautiful and so close. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  7. So beautiful. I've never seen them either. Wish they would come visit us !

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  8. Wow! I'm sure I've never seen these birds before and they are gorgeous! And so are your shots, great job.

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  9. Wow like everyone else says it. These are amazing photos. They really stand out in the winter. Anna :)

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  10. Oh my gosh, Hilke! These are fantastic...I'm totally in love with these birds...

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  11. absolutely fabulous photos..the full back flight one is just great all beauties!!
    You sure got your share of them there!!

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  12. Fabulous photos of a gorgeous bird. I've only seen them a few times, and only in flight, flashing that black and white wing. You must have been beside yourself with excitement over the shots you were getting!

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  13. Absolutely fantastic shots. They are without a doubt some of the best Snow Bunting close ups I have seen. Nice one.

    Adam @ My Life Outside

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  14. Hilke, they are GORGEOUS! I've never even seen one, but even if I do I'll never get photos like yours! Outstanding, really and truly excellent.

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  15. Great shots- "Snow" buntings seems like a very appropriate name.

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  16. Thank you everyone for your kind words. I was fortunate to be able to get that close, without disturbing the birds, and grateful to the birder who published his finding on the NH Birds list. I often find birds this way and haven't run into any mob scenes that might bother the birds and impede their feeding.

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  17. Wonderful photos! I hope to add snow buntings to my life list this winter. There are flocks of longspurs and larks all over here, but I'm not finding any buntings when I scan for them.

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  18. Heye, funny we got them in the same time ;-) I got them too on Saturday with a nice snowy environment.... Although the one we have here are less white ;-) Beautiful collection you got there, I love those birds ;-)

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  19. Yes funny, Chris. I was looking at yours while you were looking at mine. You are right the ones here have more white. Wonder what makes it so? Different groups? Thanks for commenting.

    @ Kirby Adam: thanks. I wished we had more longspurs here. We only get one or two at a time usually mixed in with large numbers of horned larks.

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  20. Wonderful photos, Hilke! Thank you.
    I have never seen a snow bunting at my feeders.

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  21. You must have been hiding in a shrub to get that close. Amazing shots with beautiful detail. The shot from behind with the wings open is absolutely awesome!

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  22. Feb 9th,,,saw a flock of these in our driveway gobbling up the bird seed and cracked corn my husband puts out for the birds,,,the thing is we are in So, Central Michigan, about 20 miles south of Lansing,,we have only seen them one other time,,,about 10 to 12 years ago,,,,they are so beautiful,,what a thrill,,, :-)

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