Dear Gardening Friends,
As we are nestling in and readying ourselves for yet another snowstorm I am writing to you about the winsome Dark-eyed Junco that has become increasingly more prevalent in our winter garden. Dark-eyed Juncos are commonly referred to in the East as “snowbirds,’ not only because they arrive to their winter feeding grounds oftentimes at the first snow fall, but because of their distinctive coloring—gray skies above (top feathers) and snow below (breast and belly feathers). In a typical winter we see singular juncos at the Nyjer feeders and on the ground below, at the most, two to four. During this snowiest of winters, we have a larger than usual mixed-flock of small seed-eating songbirds, with many more juncos feeding alongside the finches, sparrows, nuthatches, and chickadees. Quite timorous of people and sudden noise, they dart in and out of the dense shrubbery surrounding our little garden, and seem to find the greatest security in the low-lying branches of the ‘Blue Prince’ holly bushes.
Click here for the rest of the post at Kim’s blog
Good Morning Gloucester 