Snow Buntings galore

Just a note on the word "galore" which means "in abundance". I always thought it was Italian as it rhymes with "amore", but in googling it I find it's of a much more sober provenance, namely Gaelic - "go leor" translates as "enough", meaning, there is such an abundance that you say enough!  Well I guess I finally have seen and photographed enough Snow Buntings.

Thanks to Al Merrit's Bird Notes I located Snow Buntings, mixed in with Horned Larks, on Pond Rd in Vernon, VT, and on Caldwell Rd in Northfield, MA. The only problem is you can't sneak up on them. You see a flock at the roadside and hope by inching the car forward you'll get close enough for a good shot, but no such luck. They see you coming from a distance and the whole flock takes to the air, circles over the field and settles down an equal distance behind you. So all these photos are a fairly large crop.

Most winters Snow Buntings wander in from their arctic breeding grounds and forage in the soil exposed by snow plows along the roadsides.  With their small orange bills and their whimsical plumage you can't help but call them "cute". They wouldn't be out of place in a children's coloring book.

On second thought though: not quite enough. I would love to get a close-up but the only  way I could do it is to disguise myself as a snowbank. 

I actually I went back a second day and this time found a flock of Horned Larks only on Caldwell Rd, no Snow Buntings. They were all sitting alongside each other on a snowbank enjoying the sun and allowed me to drive right up to them. This gave me an opportunity to photograph them from behind and supplement my previous post on the appearance of Horned Larks. This photo shows the difference in plumage between male on the left with his rufous red rump and egg-yellow color on the face and the more neutrally colored female on the right.

Also see my recent posts on Horned Larks and Snow Buntings
Horned Larks along roadsides

Horned Larks and Snow Buntings on snowy field

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And make sure you click on the World Bird Wednesday image on the upper right panel to see the many other blog postings to this meme hosted by Springman of The Pine River Review.

Singing House Finches and other birds from around my house on World Bird Wednesday

The day before the arctic deep freeze descended again on our region and the temperature was still hovering around 30 F, I heard a cheery chorus of birds singing in the tall pines near the entrance of our driveway. Glancing up I saw what looked like pink puffy ornaments hanging high up in the branches, which on closer inspection tuned out to be a company House Finches, celebrating spring perhaps a little early. 

Male House Finch

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.