The Snowbirds Have Arrived!! Welcome Them At Your Feeder

Dark-eyed Junco

Yesterday we noticed large flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos coming through on their migration. We had some birder friends from AZ visiting and everywhere we looked clouds of juncos were fluttering up. Another friend of ours asked, "since the snowbirds are here does that mean its going to snow??"
Oh no, not yet, not the "s" word. It will snow this winter. Just because the "snowbirds," (another name for juncos), are here, doesn't mean it's going to snow now.
Dark-eyed Juncos are named snowbirds because of their plumage colors of gray and white. They have "gray skies above and snow below." In other areas of the country juncos may look slightly different.
Some juncos may stay and winter with us here, in NH. Others will continue their migration and may show up at your feeders, so start looking. Juncos like to feed on the ground or from low platform feeders and come to millet and mixed seed.