Exploring one of my favored country roads on this sunny, cold morning, I only encountered five avian species. But one of them, dark-eyed juncos, were especially abundant, foraging on and along the graveled road.
Small but hardy, these "snow birds" often fly up from the weedy borders of country roads as vehicles pass, their white outer tail feathers aiding identification. This morning, as my pickup crawled past snow-covered fields, they were easy to observe as they scoured the gravel for windblown seed. Most were of the slate-colored race, joined by some "Oregon juncos." My conservative count for eBird was 125 along the 3 mile stretch of road.
Unlike our response to encountering large raptors in frigid winter weather, birders and suburbanites tend to pity small songbirds as they face the cold wind and snow. But one need not worry about the gregarious juncos; they will head back to Canada or to the higher mountains before it gets too warm in the spring.
