Welcome to May!
Snow buntings are fun little birds to watch if you have a good pair of binoculars. They are quite timid and will fly away the second you get close to them but sometimes if you are patient they will return to the area and you can get close enough for a few photos.
Someone once described snow buntings as looking like a toasted marshmallow which I thought was quite appropriate! These birds migrate south in the winter and return north to breed on the tundra. They usually pass through Yellowknife in mid to late April through May then pass through again in September on their way back south.
I’ve had the privilege of travelling to Ulukhaktok on Holman Island where I had a chance to photograph a juvenile snow bunting. It took me a bit to ID it but I was excited to see it! The young are not as easy to ID as their white parents.
Snow buntings are a little bit smaller than an American Robin and larger than a House Sparrow. They travel in flocks of anywhere from 30 to 300 birds. I”m pretty sure I saw ALL the snow buntings in Yellowknife once, hanging out on a power pole near a horse stable. They were likely attracted by the hay seed – a great place to bulk up before a long flight!
The oldest recorded Snow Bunting was a male, and at least 8 years, 9 months old when he was re-captured and re-released during banding operations in Alaska.
Have a great week!