LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Snow Birds

Juncos are fairly common birds in our area. We rarely see them, however, because our feeders are mounted overhanging a second-level deck. When I was a child, we called them "snow birds" because we often seemed to see them during snow storms.

We have no snow, but I did spot a Junco in the trees the other day.



He flew down to the deck, but failing to find anything interesting, he quickly flew away.
The visit may have been short, but I enjoyed it immensely.

18 comments:

John Ramiro said...

hi, i´m braziliam, i like your photos

^^

Cheryl said...

The junco is a delightful bird and it is one that I am not familiar with. He appears to have a blue tinge to his feathers.....is that right??? Lovely colour.......

Cedar ... said...

Nice shots of the junco,... it is snowing here today, and the juncos are at my feeders and on my deck. Today they are really "snow birds!"

Kim said...

I love your junco pictures. It looks as if it is trying to study something in detail. So cute!

Mary said...

They are good, quiet birds. I feel sad early spring when I realize they are gone and I never said good-bye.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Beautiful Junco pictures, Carolyn.. We don't have them--or at least I haven't seen them here. We did get some snow today--and almost got stuck in it. We had gone to the grocery store --and it started snowing and sleeting while we were in Kroger's... The roads got icy quickly --but we made it home. Yipes!!!!

Hugs,
Betsy

The Birdlady said...

Beautiful little things - Strange...here they summer in the mountains and come to us in winter...I guess it's both a latitude and an elevation thing.
BTW, thank you - it's ordered. They take 3 - 5 business days to ship, but it'll be on its way soon.

Geri said...

It's great to watch birds. We have a pond with a waterfall and occasionally we get birds out there taking a bath. It's always a job to see them.

troutbirder said...

Its our most common winter bird. They come down from boreal Canada hear to the tropical climes of SOUTHERN Minnesota!

George said...

You got some beautiful pictures of the junco. Perhaps he'll come back and pose for you again.

Tina said...

So glad you enjoyed your visit with the junco. They are cute little birds and I love to watch them forage in the grass and snowy areas for seeds that I put out for them.

mon@rch said...

Love the Junco's!

Unknown said...

Love Juncos also. I look forward every November when they come to my feeder for the winter. then as soon as the spring birds arrive the juncos leave.

Pat said...

Congrats on your visitor.
Isn't it exciting to see a different bird in your neck of the woods. The simply things can be so fulfilling !

Shelley said...

I love the juncos too - when I look at their faces - they always appear to be smiling!

NCmountainwoman said...

Thanks, everyone for your comments.

Bird Girl - You are certainly making up for not watching birds during your childhood.

Cheryl - They are slate/charcoal in color, but sometimes do show a bluish tone.

Betsy - Glad you are safe and sound. Be careful out there.

Patsi - I do see Juncos when I am out walking, but this was the first to visit the deck.

Ruth said...

I know winter is coming when the Juncos arrive, usually in late October. They are one of my most abundant feeder birds, but prefer to ground feed. I put seed on the snow for them.

Dog_geek said...

We get a lot of juncos, but they seem to prefer feeding on the ground near the feeders. I never see them on the feeders themselves.