Daventry Snowbie

Snow Bunting, Daventry Country Park, 3rd April. A great find by Gary Pullan. This species has become rather erratic in its appearances in Northants over the past few years and now seems to be appearing here less frequently than it did in the last century.

Snow Bunting, Daventry CP, 3rd April 2014 (Mike Alibone)

Until 1992 it was recorded annually but, since then, it has been recorded in only seven out of the last twenty years. There have been forty-two records during the last thirty years with twenty-five (60%) falling in the month of November but only one of these was found in April during this period.

This bird appears to be a female on wholly dark primary coverts but it may be a first-year male (contrasting blackish mantle with white ‘shawl’).