Kip’s Comments - December 19, 2025

Personal Challenge Met - Not Pretty, But Met

Some time ago I challenged myself to find and photograph three winter bird species: horned larks, Lapland longspurs, and snow buntings. The horned larks were relatively easy to find. Lapland longspurs presented more of a challenge. Snow buntings were not happening… nope, I just could not find any.

Today that changed when I found a flock of snow buntings on a remote gravel road in northern Iowa. My picture of the snow bunting is not that good, but I did photograph the little bunting. Now I need to improve my images of all three species (especially the snow bunting)!

Following are images of all three winter bird species.

Snow Bunting - Image 1051323

Lapland Longspur in Snow - Image 943610

Horned Lark in Snow - Image 1047767

I did find a bald eagle today too, which really was not a surprise during the winter. Unfortunately, the “blah” sky does no good for the photo.

Adult Bald Eagle - Image 1051308

Late yesterday a family member and I drove to Minnesota. What began as clear driving quickly transitioned to blizzard conditions. These pictures of a couple of “lone trees in field” show how reduced the visibility was.

Lone Tree in Blizzard - Image 1051257

Lone Tree in Blizzard - Image 1051274