Rondeau Ric

Near Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Feb 19, 2021. A friend mentioned there was a mixed flock including snow buntings so I went and sat in my car for an hour. Got some shots of the buntings and horned larks. Plectrophenax nivalis Male Snow Buntings head to their high arctic breeding grounds when the ground is still covered in snow and temperatures can dip to -22° F. That doesn't seem like a good time to arrive, but males need to arrive early to make sure they get one of the limited nesting spots in a rock crevice. Females join them 3 to 4 weeks later when things start to warm up. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snow_Bunting

Nov 17, 2020, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Just a single bunting, normally they arrive in a large flock, eat the available food and then leave as quickly as they came. Image taken through a dirty window. Plectrophenax nivalis Male Snow Buntings head to their high arctic breeding grounds when the ground is still covered in snow and temperatures can dip to -22° F. That doesn't seem like a good time to arrive, but males need to arrive early to make sure they get one of the limited nesting spots in a rock crevice. Females join them 3 to 4 weeks later when things start to warm up.

We were out in the magnificent 75 degree sunny weather on the pontoon on Rondeau Bay. Great birding and the most unexpected bird, snow buntings were on a weed mat close to the shore of the marsh. Started with 6 species of ducks, two eagles, both yellowlegs, dunlin, American bittern, Sandhill cranes, lots of rusty blackbirds, night herons, northern harrier and more. Those photos later. Plectrophenax nivalis The male Snow Bunting returns to its high Arctic breeding grounds in early April, when temperatures can still dip as low as -30° C (-22° F) and snow still covers most of the ground. The female does not return until four to six weeks later. Smart females.

King of the Hill , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. We found a compost pile where snow buntings, lapland longspurs, american pipit and assorted other birds were coming in to feed. It seems every time I try to get photos of snow buntings it is snowing, which is somehow appropriate. It is a small song bird with a lot of white in its plumage. Scientific stuff. Plectrophenax nivalis The male Snow Bunting returns to its high Arctic breeding grounds in early April, when temperatures can still dip as low as -30° C (-22° F) and snow still covers most of the ground. The female does not return until four to six weeks later.