Flock of Junco's

Since my December 29th post, the various Junco's have been re-appearing. The usual flock of Oregon Junco's has grown from 12 to 30 + with a larger number of Slate colored and Dark Eyed Juncos in the
mix. The earlier and smaller flock had only two Slate colored Junco's feeding with them. The flock has grown to include 5 or 6 more Dark Eyed Juncos and several Slate colored Juncos. There is a lone Black-capped chickadee that feeds with them and will dart in to feed and fly up into the trees to peck at his seeds - once. I noticed yesterday that the Red-breasted Nuthatch was with them. He is also an infrequent visitor and will dart into the feeders in a rush to grab food and leave to break open seeds high into the trees. A pair of Varied Thrush has re-appeared at least 3 times this week, too. The flock of 20+ Junco's will feed on the North side and then they fly over to the East side of the yard. Their feeding patterns have changed position a little and are moving towards the feeders again. Normally, the Junco's will light on the feeders during the summer or lawn feed further away into the understory of my front yard (lately) and then move to the back, but since their numbers have increased substantially, they are feeding closer to my windows and away from the understory. I've noticed that they will alert one another, have most of the flock fly away, and leave at least 5 or 6 other Junco's to fend for themselves. The 5 or 6 Juncos remain feeding. Then the flock will slowly fly back, one by one and filter into feeding positions. They repeat this pattern several times even while the squirrels are feeding.


Cross Posted TWEETERS