This is the sight that greeted us when we arrived:
Looks a lot like the tundra! The birds that you see in the picture are a very small fraction of the thousands of birds that were taking advantage of the 50 pounds of cracked corn that the property owner distributes every day. Most of them were snow buntings, with substantial numbers of lapland longspurs and horned larks mixed in:
Below is a horned lark, staring at the camera. There isn't much doubt as to how it got its name! Horned larks comb Ohio fields for seeds and other food all year, but snow buntings and longspurs breed far to the north.
Here is a sight that not many folks have seen--snow buntings high in a tree! These field birds simply don't often leave the ground to look for food, but these snow buntings appeared to be eating silver maple flower buds:
Here are a few more pictures from this icy morning:
For excellent pictures and more information about this remarkable flock, head on over to Ohio Birds and Biodiversity.
That's so neat about the farmers feeding the birds. I saw my first robin last Friday! We've been talking about the need to feed the birds more right now; everything is still covered with about a foot of hard packed snow. Any suggestions? I don't want to spread corn because that will just draw all the neighborhood squirrels!
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