Snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) are small passerine birds that breed in the Arctic tundra during the summer months. As winter approaches and food becomes scarce in their northern breeding grounds, snow buntings migrate south to more temperate regions to overwinter. Their wintering range extends across large parts of North America, Europe, and Asia. In this article, we will examine where different populations of snow buntings go to spend the winter months.
North American Population
The majority of snow buntings that breed in northern Canada and Alaska migrate south through central North America to overwinter. Their winter range extends from southern Canada southwards into the northern and central United States.
Some key overwintering regions for North American snow buntings include:
- Southern Canadian provinces such as southern Ontario, southern Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia
- Northern U.S. states such as Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, and northern New England
- Central U.S. states including Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania
Within these broad regions, snow buntings tend to overwinter in open habitats such as agricultural fields, pastures, meadows, wetlands, lakeshores, and coastal areas. They rarely overwinter in dense forest regions.
Some notable overwintering sites include:
- The Great Lakes region of the U.S. and Canada
- Central plains states such as Kansas and Nebraska
- Coastal Massachusetts south to North Carolina
- The Prairie Pothole region of the northern Great Plains
- Agricultural areas of eastern Washington and Oregon
The abundance of snow buntings wintering in different parts of their North American range can vary from year to year depending on weather and food availability. However, some areas that reliably hold large numbers every winter include southern Ontario around the Great Lakes, central Nebraska, northern Illinois, and along the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to North Carolina.
Migration Routes
Snow buntings follow broad fronts or multiple migration corridors when traveling between their Arctic breeding grounds and wintering regions in North America.
In fall, the majority of birds migrate south through central Canada and the central United States. Some flocks also follow a more easterly route through eastern Quebec, the Maritimes, and New England.
Northward spring migration takes place along similar pathways, with flocks spreading out across a broad front as they return to Arctic breeding areas. Snow buntings often stop over on the Prairie Pothole region of the northern Great Plains during both fall and spring migrations.
European Population
Snow buntings that breed across northern Scandinavia, Russia, and other parts of the Eurasian Arctic migrate south to overwinter in a broad belt across central and southern Europe as well as parts of northern Asia.
Some of their core European wintering areas include:
- Great Britain, especially Scotland, northern England, and Wales
- Coastal areas of Norway, Denmark, and northern Germany
- Northern and central France
- The Low Countries of Belgium and the Netherlands
- Northern Italy
- Switzerland
- Austria
- Hungary
- Northern Balkans
Within Asia, snow buntings overwinter as far east as China and Japan. However, their Asian wintering distribution is not as well studied as their European wintering range.
As in North America, snow buntings in Europe and Asia primarily overwinter in open agricultural areas, meadows, pastures, wetlands, lakeshores, and coastal habitats where they can find seeds and other food sources.
Some major wintering sites that regularly support large numbers of snow buntings include:
- Coastal farmlands of eastern England
- Mixed farmland of southern Scotland
- The Wadden Sea coastline of the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark
- Coastal fields and beaches of Belgium
- Burgundy region of eastern France
- Po River basin and valley in northern Italy
Migration Routes
European snow buntings generally migrate southwest in a broad front through Scandinavia and Russia to reach wintering grounds in central and southern Europe.
Northward spring migration follows a northeastern pathway back to Arctic breeding areas. Migrating flocks make extensive use of coastal habitats around the North Sea and Baltic Sea during both fall and spring migrations.
Global Distribution
Snow buntings have an extensive global wintering distribution thanks to their broad circumpolar Arctic breeding range. In addition to the core North American and Eurasian wintering areas covered above, smaller numbers of snow buntings overwinter in other regions including:
- Iceland
- Faroe Islands
- Northern Mongolia and northeastern China
- Mountainous areas of northern Japan
- Kamchatka Peninsula in far eastern Russia
- Aleutian Islands of Alaska
- Insular Newfoundland in eastern Canada
So in summary, snow buntings winter across a very broad swath of the northern and central latitudes of North America, Europe, and Asia. Their distribution shifts south by thousands of kilometers between the Arctic summer and winter. But winter habitats are consistent in providing open areas with abundant seeds and grains for feeding.
Habitat and Diet
Snow buntings overwinter in open habitats that provide plentiful food sources, as well as shelter from wind and periods of heavy snow or rain.
Favorite winter haunts include:
- Agricultural areas – croplands, fallow fields, pastures
- Grasslands – meadows, prairies, steppes
- Coastal habitats – beaches, dunes, estuaries
- Lakeshores and riverbanks
- Wetlands – marshes, flooded fields
- Road and rail edges
- Airports
These open habitats provide access to seeds from grasses, sedges, agricultural crops and wild plants. Buntings will also feed on grains spilled at cattle feedlots or bird feeders. Insects make up a small part of the diet in winter.
Preferred winter food sources include:
- Seeds of grasses and cereals – oats, wheat, rye, barley
- Seeds of weeds and other wild plants – ragweed, lamb’s quarters, knotweed
- Waste corn and other grains
- Insects – beetles, flies
Snow buntings mostly forage on the ground in flocks, searching for seeds as they walk or run along. They will also feed in bushes and trees on seeds and berries. Birds roost together in grassy areas or snow banks, which provide shelter.
Threats and Conservation
Snow buntings remain widespread and their global population is estimated at 15-26 million individuals. Their numbers overall have likely declined somewhat but not steeply enough to be considered threatened. However, they do face a variety of threats on their wintering grounds and migration routes.
Threats during winter include:
- Agricultural intensification – loss of fallow lands, increased pesticide use
- Disturbance in key coastal and wetland habitats from development
- Competition with other seed-eating bird species at feedlots and feeders
- Collision mortality from offshore energy facilities and communication towers during migration
Conservation priorities for wintering snow buntings include:
- Protection of natural coastal habitats in winter through reserves and reduced human disturbance
- Sustainable agricultural policies that maintain fallow fields and uncultivated areas
- Minimizing energy structures in migration corridors and designing those to reduce bird collisions
- Maintaining large protected grasslands in prairie regions that provide winter and migration habitat
With continued conservation efforts, the beautiful snow bunting should continue brightening northern landscapes each winter with its white plumage for years to come. The availability of open habitats with natural food sources remains key to sustaining healthy wintering populations across their range.
Conclusion
In conclusion, snow buntings undertake an epic migration each year from their Arctic breeding grounds to wintering areas spread across the northern latitudes of North America, Europe, and Asia. Though they nest in the far north, snow buntings can be observed in winter across most of Canada and the northern United States, a belt across central and southern Europe, and parts of northern China and Japan.
Preferred wintering habitats are open lands that provide abundant seeds and grains, such as agricultural regions, grasslands, wetlands, lakeshores, and coastal areas. Maintaining suitable habitat across such a broad wintering distribution presents conservation challenges. But efforts to provide protected natural areas and sustain bird-friendly agricultural policies will help ensure snow buntings have sufficient habitat into the future.
The amazing migratory journey made by these white visitors from the tundra is one of nature’s great spectacles. Their presence each winter is a sign that eternal seasonal cycles continue and summer will eventually return again even to the Arctic.