Hello, I'm cute.
Hello, I'm cuter.
Hello, I'm Cutest!
There's no doubt the frigid cold and white snow make the snow birds irresistible. Dark-eyed Juncos are nicknamed “snow birds” because they arrive in the autumn as the temps start to drop and stay until spring, when they return to their nesting grounds. This year, our Juncos arrived on November 8, 2008. Rick spotted them, living up to his nickname, The Spotter, and taking the coveted First Junco Sighting of the Year honor. In the winter, Juncos hang in flocks of six to 30 or more birds. Each flock has a dominant male, but I’ve not been able to identify ours. Juncos prefer to roost in evergreens at night and return to the same roost every evening.
In The Writings of Henry David Thoreau, Autumn Journal, October 26, 1857, even Thoreau is smitten by the charcoal-hooded beauties and writes:
In The Writings of Henry David Thoreau, Autumn Journal, October 26, 1857, even Thoreau is smitten by the charcoal-hooded beauties and writes:
How often they may be seen thus flitting along in a straggling manner from bush to bush, so that the hedgerow will be all alive with them, each uttering a faint chip from time to time, as if to keep together, bewildering you so that you know not if the greater part are gone by or still to come.
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3 comments:
Excellent Junco pics. I love me some juncos. Their little mechanical-sounding twitters crack me up. I certainly find them to be one of the cutest of the winter feeder birds.
Beautiful little bird and some lovely shots.
Paul.
Thanks Heather and Paul! Rick spent a couple of hours shooting these little fellows. He was hunkered down in the basement, with the window open (cold air blasting in), standing precariously on a rickety chair. What we won't do for our birds and the perfect shot!
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