A strange band and two Bald Eagles

I have been watching a flock of Oregon Juncos mixed in with a few Slate and Dark Eyed Juncos feed daily here. I have mentioned earlier that I attempted to take a photograph of a Variegated/Varied Thrush, who is quite skiddish. Well, the Thrush flew INTO the flock of Junco's feeding yesterday. Normally, the Thrush feeds OUTSIDE of the flock. This was different behavior from this Thrush in the last week or so! ALSO there is one more Black capped chickadee now for a full set. The chickadee and the Red Breasted Nuthatch have been eating my millet and making quite the mess for the Junco's to eat below and the 4 squirrels to pick up afterwards. I have had much activity here with this flock of 30 or so Juncos all day!

*One note on the Varied Thrush. He has a second dark black band, the same width of his neck band, near his lower breast or tail area.*

There were two Bald Eagles to fly at a low altitude here yesterday. They were playing and calling out to one another - flying very near one another - darting in and out of one another at close range. They both flew Southwest of here.


Cross posted TWEETERS
NOTE: January 6, 2010

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