Into the Woods with Curio: Snow Buntings
Doug Smith
"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
(Hebrews 10:24-25)
Snow buntings are winter visitors to Muskoka, seen on and off from November to April. Because they prefer large open fields without deep snow cover, they are more commonly seen south of the region, in southern Ontario. Being birds, they wander, seeking out the food they need wherever they can find it, so sometimes make appearances at the Gravenhurst airport and in farmer’s fields south and east of camp.
Breeding in the high arctic during the summer months, they come south in flocks of as few as 20 to as many as 200 or more for the winter. Muskoka and southern Ontario is their ‘Florida’.
Slightly larger than a sparrow, snow buntings are one of the whitest of songbirds. This is especially noticeable when they fly, though you’ll see some black colouring on their back, tail and wings. When seen close-up, they also have some light brown on their collar and on parts of their head. This is their non-breeding plumage, and serves to camouflage them against the bare ground in the late fall and early winter. They turn whiter as the winter progresses, because the edges of their brown feathers gradually wears off. By April they are just white with black.
Snow buntings are seed eaters, feeding on weed seeds and spilled grain in farmer’s fields. If you come across a flock while out driving along a backroad, take a few minutes to watch their behaviour. You’ll first notice them as they rise into the air. They fly only a short distance before settling back onto the ground, becoming surprisingly hard to see. But their constant movements give them away. Rather than hopping or walking they run short distances, appearing almost mechanical as they move and stop over the snow. They don’t stay on the ground long but fly up frequently, then settle again, possibly as a means of watching for potential predators.
If you see them regularly the flock may seem to grow throughout the winter. This phenomenon occurs as the birds share information in their nightly roosting places, which encourages others of their kind to join them to find the best places to find food.
Sometimes they visit backyard bird feeders. I have watched the flock in my yard grow from one lone bird just over a week ago to almost 50 as I write this. Good news spreads!
It is something that we as believers are encouraged to do as well, that is, get together with other believers to share and support one another, just as the verses in Hebrews 10 exhort us to do.