The snow began falling at 7:30 this morning. It has been falling quickly and steadily. Already the ground is covered with about two inches of snow. The juncos, who normally feed on the ground, are trying desperately to get seeds from the tube feeders and food from the suet feeders. These feeders don't have perches for the juncos to land on so they are finding it difficult to get the food. I got the globe feeder which has a small 'floor' in it and hung that up. (This feeder doesn't hold much seed so I replaced it last fall with a larger tube type feeder.) If the juncos can get through the small openings, they should be able to rest on the floor and grab some seeds. I have gone through several different types of feeders over the years and any that have a platform or ledge enable squirrels and starlings to feed from them. It eliminates cardinals too, but they feed from the ground, so I haven't been concerned for them.
Almost immediately the juncos found the feeder and tried it out. Hooray, they can get inside! They are happily feeding from it now.
The prediction is for only a few inches during the day, with blizzard conditions beginning about 6 p.m. tonight. We are supposed to get anywhere from 2 to 3 feet! I'll keep you posted...
Showing posts with label juncos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label juncos. Show all posts
February 8, 2013
April 16, 2012
Where Are the Birds?
We had an early start to spring which means an early season of hatching and growth of insects as well as plants. The robins were here in numbers early, as were the phoebes, and many of the winter visitors to feeders must be concentrating on the insects for food. I haven't seen a titmouse, nuthatch, woodpecker or flicker in weeks and a single chickadee appears once in a while. The house sparrows and house finches are still regulars though. I haven't seen the juncos in a few days, so I guess they finally headed north. But I am still waiting for the arrival of the wrens, cat birds, mockingbirds and Baltimore oriole.
November 2, 2011
Juncos
The juncos have arrived for the winter! It's interesting that their arrival coincided with the first major frost of the season here. It's possible they have been here for a few days, but its been dark in the mornings so I haven't noticed. Off from work today and the sun has been brightly shining since it rose, it was easy to spot them out the dining room window.
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