I saw them last week. Snowbirds. And then I realized I had not seen them since, well, last winter. They had vamoosed. But there they were, 4 or 5 black and gray snowbirds, scratching on the ground for spilled seeds from the feeder.
The official name for snowbirds is Dark-Eyed Junco – Junco hyemalis, to be exact. Snowbirds often spend their springs, summers and falls to the north, then move our way when it gets cold in places like Canada. When things ice up to the north and west, the friendly little birds head south. Interestingly, the females usually migrate further south than do the males, which is why we almost always see only male snowbirds here in the Commonwealth in winter.
Males are pretty birds, with black backs, gray chests and a white belly. Females are rather non-descript with a dusty tan chest, head and back. Both males and females have white outer tail feathers in full view when flying.
Snowbirds will occasionally perch on one of our feeders, but more often do a “double-scratch” with both feet at the same time to expose seeds or insects on the ground. Snowbirds eat many weed seeds. I guess that’s why they like my back yard. There are lots of weeds back there. But I always try to scatter a few seeds for the ground feeding birds, like juncos, sparrows and others.
Welcome, snowbirds, for as long as you’ll stay. It’s good to have you back.