The big storm that cut a wide swath across the country left about 8 inches of new snow on the ground at our home. The storm didn’t seem to bother the dark-eyed juncos and three varieties of sparrows that fed virtually all-day long at the feeders.
I expected the house sparrows and wasn’t surprised to see a couple of white-throated sparrows and a few song sparrows chowing down. What did surprise me was the number of juncos that swarmed our yard. I estimate that at least 20 of them were visiting at their peak, many more than the handful we normally see.
The juncos and sparrows seem to be in cahoots when it comes to feeding at our place. The house sparrows take the lead in perching at the main feeder, stuffing themselves and sloppily dropping seeds to the snow below. That’s where the juncos and white-throated sparrows hang out, plucking seeds off the snow. Song sparrows occasionally appeared on the perch but mostly stuck to ground feeding.
On the nyjer tube feeder, I often saw a single junco clinging to the side while four or five of its mates were eagerly plucking at however many of the little black seeds the one up top scattered on the ground.
Snow fell most of the day, flakes for the first several hours and then pellets in the afternoon and evening.
Every time I opened the front door, I flushed two or three juncos that were on the porch, evidently taking a break from the storm.
As I was shoveling snow and using my light-duty electric snowblower, the juncos kept feeding from the small cage feeder we have in our front yard. As I looked up at the feeder, I was struck by how much one of the juncos’ two tailfeathers (white underneath) resembled icicles.
I’d like to think that because I talked to the juncos (everybody talks to birds, right?), they relaxed and didn’t worry about the man in the Princeton parka with the noisy blue machine belching white powder. Even when I pushed the blower only a few feet from the shepherd’s hook holding the feeder, the juncos stood firm and munched.
Once back in the house, I was amused by a song sparrow waiting its turn for the main feeder out our dining room window. The bird (in photo topping this post) waited patiently while the house sparrows sparred with each other and hogged the seed ports.
The birds that come to our yard charm me each day, and I’m grateful for the performance they put on during yesterday’s storm. We’re in for an extended cold spell, and I hope they continue to come calling. 🦅
The Jersey Birder 
While I enjoy seeing such a fun mix of birds at my feeder all year—Juncos, Titmice, Chickadees, White‑throated Sparrows, Goldfinches, House Finches, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, and the always‑entertaining White‑breasted Nuthatch—feeding them has become quite expensive. Everyday I have over 20 birds.
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My birdies are keeping me busy keeping their feeders filled too! They are hungry hungry!
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Interesting! However, I read “junco” as “juco” which, to the basketball side of my brain, means “junior college” and since, March Madness is coming soon, perhaps a “Juco Transfer” will light some teams’ fire.
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