Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis)

Abundance:  Rare; 7 records in 5 Regional counties, 4 in Kentucky and 1 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population visiting the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status:  Visitor during late fall (2 records) and winter (5 records); photograph.

Regional High Count: 3 (see 2 records below).

Information on Records: 

16 November 1996 (1) Green River Lake, Adair County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo; Palmer-Ball 2003), photo.

30 November 2003 (1) Scott County Reservoir, Scott County, Tennessee (Jimi Moore, Nell Moore, Stephen J. Stedman; Knight 2004a).

29 January 2009 (1) Gastineau Rd., Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton, Steve Denton, Connie S. Neeley unpubl. data).

29 January 2009 (2) Fonthill, Russell County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton, Steve Denton unpubl. data).

29 January 2009 (3) Hovious Ridge Rd., Adair County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton, Steve Denton unpubl. data).

30 January 2009 (3) Rt. 914, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton, Steve Denton unpubl. data).

30 January 2009 (1) Anna Brown Rd., Wayne County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton unpubl. data).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Habitat: Shorelines of large lakes; large harvested grain fields and short grassy field, especially those with a dusting of snow.

Remarks: Known to associate with larks and longspurs; neither of the first two individuals sighted in the Region did so, but all of the individuals observed during late January 2009 exhibited this behavior.

    During the period from 2004 to 2008 it was predicted that mid-November to late November would be the the likely period during which the next Snow Bunting record would  take place; however, this prediction was not borne out, as the "next record" turned out to be multiple records that occurred during late January.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited