Snow Bunting

Above and below: Snow Bunting in winter plumage.

Snow buntings are attractive little birds that visit the UK in small numbers in the winter having spent the summer in such sunny places as Iceland. They are small finches, about the size of a sparrow and are surprisingly tame. The bird that I photographed, shown on the left, allowed me to approach to within about six feet and I had the feeling I could have got a lot closer, as it barely showed any signs of noticing that I was there.

The summer male is a white bird with black back, tail and wings, with white bars on the wings. Having said that, you're not likely to see one in this plumage. In winter the birds have a streaked brown/black back and wings. The crown is pale brown and the cheeks white with a brown patch. The breast is flushed with a warm buff brown colour by the shoulder of the wings although this can be a little more extensive in some individuals. The belly and vent are pure white. The legs are black and the small beak is yellow.

As they are rare visitors there is no one place that they can be regularly replied upon to turn up. The best places are around the beaches of North Wales, the Wirral and Lancashire but they can also turn up inland, with Soil Hill, Halifax being one fairly regular spot in recent years and Chasewater in South Staffordshire hosted one all winter in 2006/2007.

You're best checking the Birdguides web site (or similar sites) for information on sightings in the North West. Once reported for a few days running, they do tend to remain in the same general area for a number of months or even the whole winter. Their bold nature makes them easy to approach and to photograph, so a trip to see a regularly sighted bird is likely to prove successful.