Snow Bunting

Thursday evening, when I arrived home, there was a report of a Snow Bunting on the beach at Goring Gap. It's walking distance from home so the next morning I went to have a look. It was very easy to find, feeding along the path at the back of the beach, with a small group of birders grouped around it.

It was frequently flushed by walkers and dogs going past but as with others I have seen there in the past, it did not seem to be worried by the disturbance and quickly returned to its favoured feeding spots.

Snow Bunting

They are one of the easiest birds to photograph, being even more confiding than a robin. You just have to note which direction it is foraging in, get in front of it and sit and wait for it to come to you.
I have had them land on my shoes a couple of times and a big lens can be a real disadvantage.

It was nice this time to be able to get it with a green background. They usually stay on the pebbled areas where they blend in and are difficult to spot. Also unless you use a narrow depth of field to put the background out of focus the bird will look lost amongst the pebbles on your picture.

We did have a Snow Bunting reported in the same place just before Christmas but that was very elusive. It would be interesting to know if this is the same bird.


There were a few Skylarks over the road in the gull roost but unfortunately they are not as obliging as the Snow Bunting. This one beating a hasty retreat as soon as I wound my window down.

Skylark

The morning was only spoilt by a few dog walkers. Most were happy to make a small detour around the bird and many stopped to ask what it was and to look at the pictures. However, there are always a few, with one woman in particular, insisting on walking her dog straight at the bird whilst telling us that this was a place for dog walkers. That's odd, I thought it was there for all of us to share and enjoy.

There are always a few bad apples, dog walkers, toggers, and even (whisper it) amongst people that carry binoculars!