Continuous cold temperatures and bouts of fresh snow that stays on the ground – for me that’s what Winter is all about. And I love it. So, evidently, do Snow Buntings. I’ve been preaching for years now that if you want to catch them you need both of the above elements and we’ve had them for the past week….and it shows.
On the 16th when these conditions were beginning to set in I banded 6 at my “York Airport” site. As indicated in the previous post (the 1tth), we went to Marnie’s Irish Line site where, in short order, we banded 50. On the next day we split our time between the two sites and got 40. On the 19th I got only 8 buntings at the Airport but also 17 Horned Larks and a Lapland Longspur. (This drop was largely due to a pair of marauding American Kestrels that kept the birds skittish and reluctant to approach the trap area.
And then things really opened up: 49 on the 20th, 63 on the 21st, and 41 today (along with 8 larks and a longspur) – all at the Airport. As well, today I handled 17 “retraps” – birds that had been banded on another day. 7 of these had been banded last season and one had been banded somewhere else (likely Long Point as Marnie has had a couple from there already). The increase in the number of retraps is very interesting, especially the birds from previous years. It shows that there’s a good number of birds that know where a reliable food source is, not only over a few days but also over a year…or more.
It was unfortunate that I had to close today after just 41 buntings. But I was getting too much good Winter weather. Fresh snow was being drifted by a brisk chilling wind. Traps are like snow fences: drifting snow builds up in them and in short order the cut corn is covered over and, even more of a handicap, the tunnels fill with snow so that hungry birds can’t get in. So I pulled the traps giving free access – and before I even got back to the car a mixed flock of 40 or more were on it. I’ll back this afternoon and touch the piles up, insuring that the birds will be back tomorrow.
[A number of folks have expressed an interest in helping band Snow Buntings. Well…..this is the time! Just contact me.]
Rick