On Sunday I went to Lawrence County to see the horned larks and snow buntings reported on PABIRDS.  The clue I received was to go to the Volant Strips and look for the grain silos near the intersection of US Route 19 and Black Road. 

Here they are.  Big.  Full of corn.  With lots of spilled grain on the ground around them. 

A flock of 100 snow buntings fed on the driveway at the back of the silos, house sparrows fed at the front, and horned larks walked through the parking lot. 

Between feeding sessions the snow buntings perched and preened on the horizontal bar on top of the silos.  The house sparrows perched on the building next door.

Birds attract birds.  Six male bluebirds fluttered from bush to bush in the adjacent grassland.  A sharp-shinned hawk raised the house sparrows in a dense frightened flock – but didn’t catch any of them.  A rough-legged hawk patrolled the area looking for rodents and unsuspecting birds.

Just like a giant bird feeder, all the action in the neighborhood was right here.  It was cold(!) but easy to find. 

(photo of the Deerfield grain silos by Kate St. John.    Steve Gosser took pictures here on Saturday.  Click on the grain silos and these links for his photos of snow buntings, a horned lark and a rough-legged hawk.)