Author Archives: JK

Snow Buntings

Posted on by
5

Monday, March 2, 2009

snowbunt003

These pics are of two Snow Buntings I saw at Jones Beach in early January. These are extremely hardy birds. According to Sibley, these are one of “the few small birds that can breed in the most extreme Arctic conditions.” The two birds pictured here are in their winter plumage. In summer the males are almost entirely white with a few black patches. I am unsure of the gender of either of these birds but if I were to hazard a guess, I would say that the bird in the photo below is a male. Again, that is just me guessing. I am not a birder and I really don’t who is who. Snow Buntings do migrate in gender-segregated flocks and females tend to migrate further south than males so that is an argument for both of these birds being females. I don’t know. I’m just a guy with a camera and an index finger. JK

snowbunt002

Northern Flicker, Front And Back

Posted on by
2

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Northern Flicker, male.

This is one good-looking bird. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Any one of his features would be enough to make him handsome, from that red chevron on the back of his gray head to that beautiful polka-dot breast, or those bright yellow feathers on the underside of his tail. Put them all together and you’ve got a bird that makes you say wow. JK

Northern Flicker.

Dark-eyed Junco

Posted on by
1

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Dark-eyed Junco

Dark-eyed Juncos are birds that we generally only see in the winter. This is their idea of flying south. The rest of the year they roam as far north as Canada’s tree line. When they run out of trees they stop flying north. JK