The Outdoor Journal

A house finch and sparrow feed on a seed mix in the backyard. Photo: Howard Meyerson

By Howard Meyerson

The dark-eyed juncos are the first to arrive on wintry mornings. They land in the snow and forage around, picking at the seeds that have fallen from the bird feeders. I’ve always liked how they appear: dark gray feathers on top, white on the bottom. They are soft looking, and fluffy, and never squabble like the house sparrows which converge on the feeders en masse later in the day.

I didn’t notice the Juncos until the snow arrived. The usual northern cardinals had come once I put out some seed. An occasional purple finch would arrive and take station on the feeder. Now and then a white-breasted nuthatch would fly down from the big oak tree out back. Even the hairy woodpecker made an appearance – flying directly to the suet, where it pecked away at some nourishment before flying furtively back under the house eves, only to reappear minutes later and peck away again.

Author Bill Thompson III calls the dark-eyed junco “the snowbird” in his new book “Midwestern Birds Backyard Field Guide.” There is a reason for that.

“They seem to show up at our feeders and in our backyards at the same time as the first snows begin falling over much of the country,” Thompson writes. “For many of us, winter is the only time we have dark-eyed juncos around.”

He seemed to be reading my mind.

Thompson’s new book is one of two nice birding books that crossed my desk this fall. The other is the “Audubon Birdhouse Book,” by Margaret A. Barker and Elissa Wolfson. Winter seems to be when many get serious about their backyard bird feeding and either of these books will be valuable to those who enjoy birdwatching around the home.

Thompson is the editor and co-publisher of “Bird Watcher’s Digest,” a bi-monthly birding magazine that was started in 1978 by his family in Ohio. It has published the writings of such luminaries as President Jimmy Carter and naturalist and ornithologist, Roger Tory Peterson. 

What I like about Thompson’s book is its simplicity; it is focused on the essentials that backyard birdwatchers need to know: what the bird looks like, where it is found, what backyard bird feeders can do to attract them, and what their nests look like. Continue reading →