Badger Tracks

By Anita Carpenter

Arctic Winter Visitors

Along a windswept country road where fingers of blowing snow undulate across my path, snow buntings search for seeds on the exposed gravel shoulder. With my approach they burst into flight, banking, swirling, tilting as if one, their black wingtips contrasting with the white background. Once I have passed, they return to the same spot as if I were but a minor intrusion into their routine.

The 6-1/2 to 7-inch snow buntings, Plectrophenex nivalis, are wandering winter visitors from the rocky, wind-swept Arctic. If they make the long southerly journey to Wisconsin, snow buntings are likely to be found in open, barren places such as roadsides, lake shores or short grass fields. In fields, they may be impossible to find as they walk among the grass and clods of dirt unless they fly.

In their winter plumage, which we are most likely to observe, male snow buntings are primarily white with brownish caps and touches of light brown on their backs. As spring approaches, the brown feather tips wear away exposing the white head and black back of the male in breeding plumage. The female's back in breeding plumage is brownish with tinges of black and white. She has a few light brown streaks on the back of her head. In all plumages, the most characteristic features of snow buntings are the large white upper wings tipped with black. No other flocking bird in this area has this upper wing pattern. If observing the flying flock from underneath, the birds appear entirely white.

Snow buntings seem oblivious to weather conditions that send other birds searching for the security of shelter. These hardy visitors may be observed flying in snowstorms. To escape the bitter cold or blustery winds, snow buntings do not roost in trees but burrow into the insulating cover of snow.

If you encounter a flock of snow buntings, always check to see if a few Lapland longspurs, Calcarius lapponicus, may be mixed in with them. These slightly smaller birds (6-1/4 inches), look like fat house sparrows, but with buffier colors and a subtle rufous face patch. This is their winter plumage which we normally see. An adult male in breeding plumage is stunning with his yellow conical bill, yellow eye line, black cap, face, chin, and breast, and rufous nape of the neck. We rarely see these boldly colored birds as they often depart for the Arctic before their feathers change.

Lapland longspurs do not fly in as tight a formation as do snow buntings. Within a flock, each bird moves in its own undulating flight path. Collectively, the flock looks like popcorn popping as individuals bounce along, up and down.

Snow buntings and Lapland longspurs wander about in winter. Discovering them is serendipitous but search for them in open fields, beaches, and airports, where flat, exposed land might resemble their Arctic home. Each winter is different. Some years these Arctic wanderers are numerous while other years, they may be devilishly difficult to find. They are always a treat to see.

 November-December 2026, The Lake Flyer