By Hal and Kirsten Snyder
www.moonbeampublishing.org
August 28, 2021
Editor’s Note: I love to receive photos from the Snyders because I learn something new about the birds they capture. Since Painted Buntings usually appear in mid-April, some people call them “tax birds. Buntings are found in the brush of backyards and often times at Fort Clinch. According to Kirsten, “Both the colorful males and plain, greenish females are rather secretive, but the males can sit out singing around nesting time and he has a wonderful, sweet song,” Thank you Snyders for your contribution to the Fernandina Observer.The Snyder husband and wife team have always loved photography, birds, and being outdoors. When asked who took each photo, Kirsten said they swap their camera so often they don’t always know. Kirsten and Hal started their website www.moonbeampublishing.org in 2008, focused on bird photography and other interests, to share the amazing sights they witnessed in nature.
The Snyders now call Amelia Island home having retired here in 2014. They donate images and book proceeds to non-profit environmental groups and are published in books, magazines, and calendars around the world. While it is certain that they will continue to miss more wonderful shots than they capture, the thrill of watching the beauty of flight will always remain.
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I laughed at the “tax birds” reference. We say the same thing at our house. Except our buntings, which arrive usually by October, leave on tax day (April 15). Almost like clockwork. I live on the island and have been enjoying and hosting painted buntings for 13 years now. Maybe mine go to the Snyders’ when they leave me! Truly, I have not figured out whether mine are part of the year-round population on the island, or if they are migrants who come down from the north in the winter, and depart for local breeding grounds or the Carolinas in the spring. Their site fidelity ensures that the same ones come back to us every season.