The Comings and Goings of "Snowbirds"

It’s good to notice such things-comings and goings. For the year is full of small celebrations, numerous “firsts” and they aren’t always marked on the calendar that hangs on your wall. Each of us has another calendar, which is turning its pages right outside our door. The “natural” calendar which is uniquely suited to each individual with special days that mark what that person happened to “see” that day.

My own calendar will claim that I saw the first “snowbird”, Dark-eyed Junco, on Oct 21st. And for me, that is an important date on the march towards winter. I will be providing three squares a day for a small squadron of Juncos that make my yard their winter home and I love the sight of that first arrival. Now this isn’t to say that is THE first day Juncos were on the Cape, it is just the first day I noticed one. That’s the beauty of this personalized calendar. Don’t feel intimidated, it won’t be printed in the Smithsonian, it is just your own awareness of changes going on around you.

And a Junco in my back yard, being on the East Coast is going to be a slate colored bird, almost black tuxedo-like with a white belly. However, if you live out West your Junco would have a rusty colored back with a gray head
and if you are in Oregon, your Junco will have a black head and brown back, and they all are called Dark-eyed Junco’s.
Go figure! And perhaps yours live by you all year.

This is one of the most common birds in North America, some 630 million of them, so no doubt you have one in your neighborhood too. And the nice thing about these seedeaters is that they actually like the millet in those mixed seed bags that so many other birds leave behind. But for my personal calendar, fall is in full swing and winter coming on soon when the “snow birds” arrive.

Coincidentally, their arrival from the North is parallel to the two-legged Snowbirds leaving their Northern home to head further south for the winter. Not searching for insects this group but for days of shuffleboard or golf or Salsa dancing under the stars. I will sadly lose one of my faithful walking ladies as she migrates south this week. The first in a long line of people dodging the wildness of a northern winter. We shall miss them and they make a dent on my personal calendar too.

Because I am insane enough to walk the dog in any weather, I was treated to another calendar event this week. On Nov. 8, the day of our first slushy snow, which pretty quickly turned to a sideways-driving rain, I saw my first Snow Bunting.
This has to be the earliest I have ever seen one. Perhaps this never ending Northeaster scooped it up and tossed it my way ahead of schedule. Poor dear, the weather was so wild, but then that is its element. This is a bird that finds love in the northernmost part of the
Tundra, in the Arctic, that scratches out insects and seeds from the most barren places and usually travels in twittery flocks. It was strange to see one all alone, as this one was. The rain was coming down so hard that it shook its feathers every few seconds to keep the water off. It let me get so close that I wanted to offer it my umbrella, but then off it went I hope to catch up with the rest of the flock that must have been somewhere. First snow, first Snow Bunting, it made it a red-letter day on my calendar.

So, here is your challenge- start noticing. Any firsts, any changes, any new arrivals or maybe departures of your wild neighbors. Listen for crickets, are they still chirping where you live? Have your chipmunks sealed off those round holes of theirs yet? I have been meaning to check mine. And a million other things you might notice. It’s your calendar to highlight as you will, declare your own holidays and celebrate your own list of firsts. And the year can start whenever you are ready to notice it. Now, enjoy!