Pam Webb

My Not So Big Year: Junco Journal

Junco Journal

The junco is a common bird, true; however, it has plenty of personality. We learned about juncos this winter when we took to tossing out birdseed under the living room window to avoid trudging in the snow to fill the feeder. Daily a troop of birds ranging from sparrows to doves to juncos would pop by. The consistent crew was a group we referred to as the Jolly Juncos. They would merrily hop about foraging for food in their somber dark hoods and grey suits. They were determined and undeterred in their daily sweep for seed. They helped break the monotony of winter.

In spring we were delighted to find a junco had created a nest in one of my hanging flower baskets.

Unfortunately the birds flew the coop early, no doubt due to the fact that they nested in our patio area and we go through there multiple times a day. I felt terrible until I read about a ornithologist who runs into the same problem when studying juncos. The extra attention needed to band them for tracking can force fledglings to leave the nest early, but the good news is that the survival rate is high. This (I told myself) is what probably happened with our four little nestlings. Mama did return once or twice to the empty nest then disappeared.

I miss having our little junco family as neighbors and wonder if they will return next year.