Subject: [Tweeters] New Year's Morning and Junco questions
Date: Jan 1 09:39:23 2017
From: Teresa Michelsen - teresa at avocetconsulting.com


Good morning all!



My top ten on this snowy morning were the usual flock of forest birds
mobbing my feeder - Song Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Steller's Jay, Dark-Eyed
Junco, Varied Thrush (just the one), Chestnut-Backed and Black-Capped
Chickadees, a mob of Northern Flickers, American Crows, and a Downy
Woodpecker. And a Douglas Squirrel. :)



I was making a study of the juncos because, well, it's a New Years morning
kind of thing to do, and because one of them does not look like all the
others. I am well aware of the M/F variation in our "usual" juncos, and
this is not that. So by "usual" I am speaking of the Oregon Junco with
pinkish-brown sides, brown back, and black or grey head. This one is not
pictured in the books, so I am assuming it is either one of many subspecies
of the Oregon Junco group not shown, or a hybrid of some kind.



It is a male with a dark black head and black eyes and pink bill. Its side
wash, however, is grey - without a hint of pink or rufous. The sides and
neck contrast with white underparts. The back is brown like an Oregon Junco,
not grey like a Slate-colored. Whereas the "normal" juncos for around here
have buffy wing tips that are visible at the base of their backs, this one
has slightly more whitish tips (but not white wing bars like a
White-winged). Any knowledgeable folks have thoughts on this?



I also have two distinctly different song sparrows - the ultra-dark one
normally expected this time of year (I assume down from BC or Alaska) and a
surprisingly light contrasty one (i.e., with a whiter base) than our local
Song Sparrows. Not sure where that one is from.



Fun!



Teresa Michelsen

Snoqualmie, WA