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Snow Bunting

Plectrophenax nivalis
Calcariidae
Seen only during the winter months in RI
Photographed on rocks ...
... of the SG breakwater ...
... and the shoreline below
Smaller than a European Starling
Feathers of fresh non-breeding plumage wears down to ...
... produce the breeding plumage
Male arrives weeks before female to tundra ...
... to secure a good nest site in rock crevices
Female lays eggs as soon as temperature rises above 0°F
2-7 eggs are laid in a nest of grass ...
... in a decrepit barrel ...
... or a man-made structure; chicks grow quickly and ...
... appear ready to fledge in 7 days
Fledgling a bit wobbly but before long will be joining...
... a flock of fellow travelers heading south
Friends when food is plentiful but skirmishes break out ...
... when food becomes scarce
Feeding frenzy builds up fat reserves and muscle mass before ...
... heading to snowy breeding grounds

The Snow Bunting is a rare migrant at Salter Grove.  Only two sightings have been recorded from 2002 through 2024, the first in early April, 2017,  and then not again until early November, 2020.  Both times, birds were observed on the offshore breakwater, a man-made analogue of the rocky habitat they favor in the Arctic.

Not for nothing is this cold-tolerant bird called the Snow Bunting.  Males are the first of any migrants to arrive to the high Arctic tundra to secure a breeding site in early April.  Snow is still on the ground and temperatures can dip down to -30°F.   Females arrive three to four weeks later and eggs are laid as soon as the temperature is above 0°F. 

It is able to withstand the low temperatures upon arrival at the Arctic breeding grounds by feeding intensely on the wintering grounds to increase fat reserves up to 30%, and grow muscle mass to generate heat through shivering.

Nest and nestlings are hidden within rock crevices to avoid predators such the Snowy Owl and Arctic fox.  Nest sites are close to sedge meadows and patches of low shrubs and lichens.  Besides producing the various seeds consumed by adults, these habitats attract the insects required by nestlings and juveniles in their diet.

This Arctic specialist has a circumpolar breeding range covering the northernmost regions of North America, Europe and Asia.  Unlike other Arctic breeders, the Snow Bunting is a late fall migrant and does not travel far to winter in open coastal habitats of the northern temperate region.  Only the Common Raven, a much larger bird, can winter as far north as the Snow Bunting.

The Snow Bunting varies in abundance greatly from year to year at any wintering locality.  It may be totally absent one year followed by flocks of adults and young in the hundreds the following year.  Warming temperatures may likely move its southern limits further north and it will become an even rarer winter visitor to Rhode Island.