There?s nothing like a flock of Snow Buntings to brighten a barren November landscape. These small, energetic, passerines ? sporting white, black and rust-colored plumage ? frequent open habitats across Vermont between late-October and mid-March. Highly nomadic, their abundance in northern New England can vary from one winter to the next. In a good year, large flocks consisting of hundreds of Snow Buntings can be observed descending on weedy fields across the state. In other years, they may only be found reliably in agricultural areas of the Champlain Valley. Winter flocks of Snow Buntings are consistently restless, frequently flushing and swirling around like a sudden snow squall, before settling back down to feed.
Snow Buntings breed on the high arctic tundra from Alaska, across northern Canada, to Greenland, Iceland and northern Europe, including Finland, Norway and Russia. Most populations are migratory, over-wintering from the central plains, to agricultural and coastal areas of the northeastern U.S., to western Europe. Females appear to migrate south earlier and travel farther than males, as the wintering populations in Greenland are primarily male while those in western Europe are mainly female.
Typical for arctic breeders, Snow Buntings tend to ignore trees, even roosting on the ground during the winter in slight scrapes they make in the snow. Unlike other small passerines however, they have not been observed to huddle together for warmth, even under extreme conditions. This may due to the fact that their lower critical temperature ? the temperature below which they need to generate heat to maintain normal body temperature ? is 10?F below the lower critical temperature expected for passerines of this size, suggesting that Snow Buntings may be better insulated against heat loss.
Recent Snow Bunting sightings include a flock of 50-60 birds on a farm in Shoreham, and 3 individuals at Shelburne Bay Park. Other birding highlights during the past week include a Common Eider, along with White-winged and Black Scoters off the west shore of Grand Isle, and a Brant, Pied-billed Grebe and an American Wigeon at the Shelburne Bay boat access. A flock consisting of hundreds of American Pipits, Horned Larks, and at least 1 Lapland Longspur were seen off Nortontown Road in Addison, and in Essex, an adult Golden Eagle was observed drifting south along with a male Northern Harrier.
You can explore all the birds reported last week in Vermont and add your own sightings at www.ebird.org/vins.
