- What are these snow buntings eating shows them feeding on beach springtails in Juneau, Alaska.
- When I filmed these snow buntings feeding along a saltwater beach in Juneau I wondered what they were eating. I could not tell from the video or photographs. The quick pecking with their bill indicated something quite small. After they left I examined the area that they were feeding. I could not see any seeds but lots of these tiny Beach Springtails (subfamily Onychiurinae) were crawling about. I suspect they were feeding on these springtails. The Canadian Snow Bunting Network (CSBN) is a collaboration between citizen scientists and academic researchers to understand the mechanisms behind the rapid decline in North American populations (as much as 64%) over the past 40 years (National Audubon Society). For information about their work look at: http://www.oliverlovelab.com/canadian-snow-bunting-network/
- I eventually heard this from Dr. Oliver Love (Associate Professor Canada Research Chair in Integrative Ecology) "It does indeed look like the buntings are feeding on springtails. We do indeed also see this when males arrive early on the breeding grounds. Springtails emerge at the edges of snow melt and birds pile in there to snap them up. Although tiny, the birds seem to feed continuously and presumably get enough calories from quantity. I have also witnessed buntings turning over seaweed to get at sandhoppers/sand fleas at our island breeding site. Overall, they are an extremely resourceful species!"
What are these snow buntings eating
https://vimeo.com/529916492