The depths of winter may discover some hardy outside folks slogging via knee-deep snow for a glimpse of an owl or enduring icy winds to hunt out bizarre geese. Not that model of birder? Not an issue.
There’s one other model of cold-weather birding that you could get pleasure from from a toasty automobile, along with your favourite tunes for a soundtrack and your most well-liked scorching beverage at hand. Bonus: You’ll go to starkly stunning landscapes and, with a bit of luck, discover flocks of fascinating songbirds that shrug at winter’s extremes.
Farm fields in america and southern Canada could appear harsh in winter, however for a number of sturdy species that breed on the Arctic tundra—together with Snow Bunting, Lapland Longspur, Horned Lark, and American Pipit—these are enticing locations to spend the nonbreeding season. To search out the birds, search for fields of corn or wheat stubble, particularly these the place manure has been unfold not too long ago. (They’re most likely after undigested seeds.) And in case you find a flock, look intently: These species usually intermingle.
Driving slowly via agricultural areas, you’re additionally more likely to discover raptors like Northern Harrier, Brief-eared Owl, and American Kestrel—to not point out deer, foxes, and different wildlife. “You find yourself seeing much more of the countryside that you simply didn’t know was there,” says College of Windsor biologist Oliver Love, who research Snow Buntings. “There’s quite a lot of range happening.”
This sort of birding might lack migration season’s colours and cacophony, but it surely’s an ideal time to admire the austere loveliness of winter farmland and ponder birds that join us with the Far North. “We will get a bit of spoiled in spring with so many birds singing, migrating, and shifting via,” says Audubon Great Plains avian ecologist Stephen Brenner. “Winter is a pleasant time to decelerate the tempo and actually admire the birds you do get to see.”
This story initially ran within the Winter 2025 difficulty as “Arctic Guests.” To obtain our print journal, turn into a member by making a donation today.
