Junco - Bird of Winter

We have now seen all four seasons at our home in Salemtowne.  We have been reminded of that daily for the last few weeks. When we arrived a year ago, the Junco was the most numerous bird.  They out numbered sparrows, finches and hummingbirds. We could see ten to twenty a day in our back yard on the ground, in the bushes and at the feeder.  Then summer arrived and they were gone.  Late summer it was the American Goldfinch that we saw in large numbers everyday. But now the Juncos are back.  We have missed them and enjoy watching their busy antics on the ground and around the feeder.  Juncos, some times called Oregon Juncos, and more properly now know as Dark-eyed Juncos are only winter residents of the Willamette Valley. Their summers are spent in the Cascades or Coast Range were they breed, nest, and raise their young.  In the winter they return to the milder climate of the valley floors.  We welcome them back, but it is a sure sign that winter is close at hand.