Birds in Winter

The other day I was surprised to see a flock of about 20 American Robins feeding on the hairy red fruits of  the Staghorn Sumac that was growing behind our shopping center. Because the fruits are dry, have little flesh, no fat or sugar they are usually left untouched until late winter. In spring and summer we are used to seeing them foraging on the ground, running, then suddenly stopping to listen and pouncing to extract an earthworm. In the winter when the ground is frozen they switch to fruit on the ground or still hanging in the trees. 

The Robins we see here in the winter probably probably started their fall  in Canada and found the Northeast temperate enough to stay through the winter, whereas those that summer with us have shifted southward. So these are probably the same Robins we see in early spring when the snow is receding,  in transient large flocks foraging among the old grasses and leaves in our backyards and fields.

Many birds that are solitary during the breeding season often flock together in winter, when food sources are rare and much more sporadic. Even through the bounty must be shared with a larger number it still pays off to have more eyes scouting for them.

Snow Buntings are highly territorial in the summer, jealously defending their nesting sites in the tundra, but during the winter they often travel in mixed flocks with Horned Larks. They are most easily found along plowed roadsides where they forage for grass seeds and grains.

Snow Buntings crossing a paved road

Flock of foraging Snow Buntings and Horned Larks

Male Horned Larks

Both the Horned Larks and Snow Buntings roost in scrapes in the ground or burrow into the snow for extra protection against the cold. During a storm they may let themselves be snowed in. 

In the winter Northern Shrikes, like this first year juvenile, migrate south from their home in the tiga/tundra to southern Canada and the northern United States where prey may be more available.  Sitting high in a tall tree they look innocuous, watching and scouting for any small movement in the trees or on the ground, when they are down in a flash to grab a bird or small mammal, revealing their true nature and justifying their Latin name Lanius excubitor "Butcher Bird".

House Sparrow puffed up against the cold trying to keep warm.

Bohemian Waxwings are true  nomads, roaming in flocks  and descending when finding berry or fruit bearing trees. They are voracious eaters and only leave when all the fruits have been consumed. They are so unpredictable that It's always a special thrill to see them. 

They cheer me up with their jaunty masks and feathered caps, the red wax tips on their wings and the red untertail coverts. Here they are feeding on fruit fallen off a crap apple tree. 

Their rakish looks make me smile.

Homely looking Wild Turkeys foraging on a manure pile in a snowy field.

I first saw this Common Raven on the flat roof of parking garage. It then flew across the parking lot and landed on a  mound of snow at the edge of the lot where I followed it in my car. I was able to take a couple more photos before it flew off heading east into the morning sky.

Happy Birding in 2013!

Horned Larks and Snow Buntings on a snowy field

After several days of cold and snow it was  beautiful, balmy (30 degrees) and  windstill this morning. A flock of 20+ Horned Larks appeard to be enjoying the sun on a large snow-covered field off River Rd halfway between Putney and Westminster.  As opposed to my previous post on Horned Larks these were not foraging but sat motionless.

They may have been roosting there all night as quite a few were still burrowed in the snow, with just their heads peeking out, seeking protection from the cold. When I drove back about an hour later though not much had changed. They were still in the same spot, not foraging or moving around.

Horned Larks along the roadsides

I had planned to use the dark winter days for putting my photo archives in order. I had made the mistake of transferring them to an external hard drive by the copy-and-paste method instead of doing it through Lightroom, and thus ended up with those photos having lost their connection to the LR catalog. This has to be corrected. So, much work lies ahead.

Today though the sun was bright, the sky blue, the fresh snow sparkling, and nothing could keep me indoors. Remembering that Horned Larks look for food in the gravel exposed by a plow, I drove to River Rd near Walpole in NH, just across the CT River, where I had seen them in previous years. I also hoped to find  the Snow Buntings reported there last week, especially since HL and SB often associate with each other, but they had moved on.  I  did however find a flock of about 30 HL foraging along the roadside.

Horned Larks are year-round inhabitants of North America, but since they prefer barren ground, shrub land, grassland and coastal dunes, they are absent in the forested mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire, except in the winter when deep snow drives them further afield in looking for food.