You may not find your target bird but instead find...Snow Buntings!

We recently went birding to try and find an Iceland Gull that had been seen on Lake Massabesic in NH. We dipped on it (birder talk for missed it) so, on this overcast gray day, we went to other birding spots in NH. We saw many Ring-biled Gulls, such as this Ring-billed Gull, 1st winter at the

Exeter Wastewater Treatment Plant, NH. It looked pretty barren there

but like home to Snow Buntings, birds of the far northern tundra who come down as a winter visitor to lower Canada and the northern half of the US. We found a flock of 38.

They just seemed to disappear into the rocky shore.

Their plumage colors make them camouflaged against the background of rocks and weeds, whose seeds they were eating. How many can you find in this photo?

Next we went to the Concord, NH, Community Gardens on Birch St. The dried weed and flower stalks had ample seeds for visiting sparrows, such as Savannah, Song, Chipping and Tree Sparrows and

this American Goldfinch perched on a sunflower heart!

The two most unusual birds we found there were this late migrating Bobolink

and a Nashville Warbler. (Last two photos are of birds taken in other places, but used to show you what they look like.)

When you go birding you may not always find your target bird, but instead see other cool birds! And that is the fun!
Lillian Stokes