Looking for some help.....

[Travis Novitsky]

Hi everyone,

I am hoping that some of you good folks might be able to tell me what kind of bird this is.... I live in the very northeast tip of Minnesota, have lived here my entire life and I don't believe I've ever seen a bird like this here before. I saw this fellow just for a brief moment, maybe 30 seconds, long enough to snap a few quick images and then it was gone. I'm not looking for a critique here, just trying to identify it. These were pretty far out, shot with my 100-400 lens at 400mm, and these were all cropped VERY significantly to get a better view of the bird. Thanks to you all for your help.....

Travis

[Travis Novitsky]

Here's another one.....

[Travis Novitsky]

And the only one I was able to get of the back side....terrible focus, but at least its a better angle on the wings....

[Gayle Clement]

Hi Travis. I believe that's a snow bunting. Here's a link for more info http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAbou...nting_dtl.html You were able to make good images in such a short time.

[Jan Wegener]

yes, it's a Snow Bunting

[Steve Ashton]

Hey we have these in the UK... I would say Snow Bunting as well.

[Stephen Stephen]

As the others have said Travis this is definitely a Snow Bunting. The first two images are both better than anything that I have on this species.

[danielhphoto]

It's a Snow Bunting in breading plumage. Currently they should be changing feather.

More information here

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAbou...ml#description

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Travis,
Bird placement is just about right...:confused: You might want to crop just a wee bit more on the right of your frame so the bird could be off center just a tad... The background even though it shows habitat, is too busy for me; especialy when the blades of grass are cutting through your subject...:D

[Travis Novitsky]

Thanks, everybody, for confirming the identity of this bird.....now that I know what it is, I do know that we have them around here fairly commonly....I've just never seen one so close, I guess....it threw me for a loop as I really didn't recongnize it at all. I was hoping it was something more.....unique :-) Oh, well....shows how much I know about birds, doesn't it! Thanks again to you all for your help!