Yesterday morning I was surprised to see a dark-eyed junco in my backyard. These little ground feeders hop about beneath the bird feeders cleaning up fallen seed; gray birds on gray soil. It was the pink- sided variety and such a rare occurance at my house that I tried to get some photos. It was early morning and the light was low, so the photos aren't the best. Then, last night at dusk the bird showed up again with a buddy. This one was the Oregon variety but it had a completly white tail! I'm sure it had just molted its dark tail feathers and will eventually go back to looking like every other junco, but for now the colors are striking. I snapped off some more photos but in the even lower light the shutter speeed was really slow and I was really excited and shaking, so the quality isn't the best. Of all the photos I took, this one came out best and I've cropped it and sharpened it to the best of my ablility. Perhaps it will come back tonight and I can calm down and get a better shot this time!
3 comments:
I love your blog--such great pictures and stories--I'm learning a lot! You asked about Coos Canyon, here are a couple of links to things I have written about it.
http://bethmaddaus.blogspot.com/2008/01/east-branch-of-swift-river-rumbles-down.html
and
http://bethmaddaus.blogspot.com/2007/12/coos-canyon.html
Beth
Many of us regard Juncos as such common birds and overlook them. Their real beauty is seen when they are perched in a tree against a bright blue sky. They're gorgeous.
Beth, I've already checked out those links. Thanks! What a surprise to find out that Byron is named after Lord Byron!
Mary, I love juncos. They're so quiet and sweet. Here in the west we get so many sub-species. I have yet to see a white-winged, red-backed or a yellow-eyed though.
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