Snowbirds Have Arrived

It may not officially be winter, but in bird terms, we might as well be there today. Our classic winter visit, the Dark Eyed Junco (a.k.a. Snowbird) was at last spotted on the grounds. Here's a nice shot of a clear pair: The male has the distinctive crisp contrast of dark gray above and snow white below. The female in the foreground is a lighter gray with less well contrasted breast and belly colors. These delightful birds summer in the Appalachians and will likely be with us until late March. They apparently found our front yard feeder congenial: lots of dropped seed presents good foraging opportunity for these strict ground scratchers. Well, I'm as pleased as can be. It simply isn't winter without the Snowbirds.