Something that just dawned on me this winter is that we haven't had a
(Slate-colored) Dark-eyed Junco in the yard for three winters now. We
moved here in 1991, and one-two Slate-colored, with the flocks of
Oregons, have visited every winter since then except for the past
three years. I suppose this could be explained by random variations
in bird visitation, but it is striking, now that I think of it. I'm
sure there were many different individuals over that previous period,
and I always enjoyed watching for them when the juncos were in the yard.

Are Slate-colored not wintering in this area as much as they used to?
Do they tend to prefer more open country (our yard has grown up in
trees, with all our planting, so that we no longer have wintering
Golden-crowned Sparrows)? Or is this an observation with no
significance?

-----
Dennis Paulson
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115
206-528-1382
dennispaulson at comcast.net



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