Category Archives: Birding by Car

A Couple of Winter Visitors

One of my resolutions for 2021 is to pick up my birding activity in my local county. Ginger and I have been out every day but often we just hike and listen — bird naked, so to speak. The last couple of days we have returned by auto to some of my favorite spots. Yesterday, I went looking for Snow Buntings and others, and at a spot where I’ve spotted them in years past, we found 8 or 9 birds high in a tree. The lighting was lousy and they were way out there but when I got home, I saw that they were in fact Snow Buntings.

I look for buntings to be on the ground, moving continually in swirls of motion, so these birds initially faked me out.

Today, after some errands, we swung by the airport (always hoping for a Snowy Owl) and pulled into a medical complex where I’ve seen shrikes and a snowy. Sure enough, perched way at the top of a far off tree, swaying in the north wind, was this Northern Shrike.

Shrikes always seem to perch on the very top of the tree.

It was pushing the limit of my point and shoot but it was nice to leave the car running, grab 20 shots, and get back to warmth. Fair weather birding via Honda Fit.