Around the House | Dark-eyed Junco Nice light, a nice frame, and a perch with decent background make the image. Note: I post an image everyday at hankconrad.com.
| 1/02/2022 | Simple click through a thermopane window. |
| Gear | Nikon 1 V3 with a FT-1 Adapter & AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR |
| Exposure | 300mm (810mm) f/7.1 1/500s -0.33ev 450iso |
Northern Illinois | 2/06/2020 10:19 am Local Time | Light Snow 27°F Moderate Winds
In Search of Snowbirds | Dark-eyed Junco The Dark-eyed Juncos are one of the most abundant forest birds of North America. Juncos are the “snowbirds” of the north that come down to middle America to winter. They look they are wearing little suits.
The Back Story Keeping the camera on a table near the window pays off. This image was a simple click at coffee break time.
Quick Facts…
| Dark-eyed Junco … Slate gray with with belly. | |
| Habitat | Conifer & mixed woods. Open woods, undergrowth, brush, woodland edges, thickets, etc. |
| Range | Common in Winter in Northern Illinois |
| Nest | Almost always on ground & well hidden under overhanging grass, under log, rock, etc. |
| Diet | Mostly seeds in the winter and insects in the summer. Frequents bird feeders in winter. |
| Behavior | Forages mostly on the ground. Comes to bird feeders, but forages on the ground under feeder. |
| Size | Length: 5.5-6.3 in | Weight: 0.6-1.1 oz | Wingspan: 7.1-9.8 in |
A Bit of Winter | Snowy Dark-eyed Junco Juncos are so cool. They fly around with little tuxedos. And, they stick around all year around. For the whole story with all images, see A Bit of Winter | a 7 Image Story.
Spring Walkabout Birds | Dark-eyed Junco Juncos seem to stick around all winter and are here to welcome spring with us. Snow fell in the early morning of this early spring day and was almost gone as I began my walkabout. Small birds like this Dark-eyed Junco can be challenging to capture even with a long, fast lens. And, capturing a decent image while walking outside is difficult to impossible. You just can’t get close enough to them unless you are really careful and a bit lucky. For the whole story with all images, see Spring Walkabout Birds | a 7 Image Story.
Spring Walkabout Birds | a 7 Image Story Spring walkabout this year have been a bit different. More people are walking due to the virus driven stay-at-home orders. Folks are not only walking neighborhood streets but also the wooded and lakeside 
trails I tend to frequent.
Normally, it’s a busy day when I see one other person on my walkabout trails. This year I’ll see one other person on almost all my hikes, sometimes two. Now, one or two people in several miles certainly allows me to keep social distancing standards. Walking to and from the trails on local streets gets a little more crowded. People seem to be out walking their dogs much more often these days. Let’s now focus on some common spring birds found on my walkabouts.
Barred Owl The Barred Owl is sometimes known as a Hoot Owl due to its distinctive call. This owl was scouting for prey in a far off tree as I was crossing a foot bridge along my walkabout trail in a wooded forest preserve. Barred Owls are most active at night. Sometimes they’ll hunt in the daytime as well. This owl appears to like late afternoon. It really blends into its surroundings. In the spring before the leaves fully grow out, it’s possible to spot them when they are hunting. Binoculars can be very helpful to spot them against the tree branches. Without bins, finding a Barred Owl in a forest is nearly impossible; really just luck. Even with bins, it’s difficult. The only way I’ve been able to reliably spot them is to watch where they land.
Blue Jay Native to North America and northern Illinois, at least a few Blue Jays stay for the winter. They are here when winter turns into spring. They have beautiful plumage against the snow and green buds in early spring. They mainly feed on nuts and seeds so they show up at neighborhood bird feeders. They are very wary of people and fly at the first hint of sight or sound. Thus, it’s rare to capture an image on walkabout.
Dark-eyed Junco Juncos seem to stick around all winter and are here to welcome spring with us. Snow fell in the early morning of this early spring day and was almost gone as I began my walkabout. Small birds like this Dark-eyed Junco can be challenging to capture even with a long, fast lens. And, capturing a decent image while walking outside is difficult to impossible. You just can’t get close enough to them unless you are really careful and a bit lucky.
American Robin The little Robin red breast was my mom’s favorite bird with the possible exception of a Cardinal in the winter snow. She always loved it when the Robins first appeared at what seemed to be still winter because she knew spring was not far behind. Back then, they seemed to go south if the weather was too cold. Now, we see a few of them all winter long.
Mallard Of course, Mallards frequent several creeks along my walkabout trail. Mallards are the most familiar duck species in the world and are the ancestor of nearly all domestic duck breeds. The common duck’s quack is made by the female. Males make a quieter, rasping sound. The oldest known Mallard was a male over 27 years old.
American White Pelican Gear down, flaps down, clear to splash! It’s a good landing if you can float away. Although they are one the heaviest flying birds in the world, American White Pelicans are strong fliers who alternate flapping and soaring. Their large yet narrow wingspan makes soaring easier. Their bodies measure up to 5 feet in length, their bills can reach 14 inches, and their wing spans up to 9 feet. In the breeding season, they have a flattened “horn” on the upper bill. They shed the horn after mating. Males and females look exactly alike except the female is a bit smaller. And, they’re such clowns when flocked together on the water.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Spring Walkabout Birds.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Last Snow Birds | Dark-eyed Junco The snowfall makes a nice background for this Dark-eyed Junco. The Juncos are common around here and stay around all winter. They seem to like the nearby woodland areas, but also hang around the bird feeder, particularly in the winter when it snows. For the whole story with all images, see Last Snow Birds | a 7 Image Story.
Last Snow Birds | a 7 Image Story The snow storm this week will likely be the last of the season. Spring is only a few days away. The snow on the trees melted by the afternoon. These images are of common, local birds. Still, capturing the falling snow in the photos make them a bit different.
Male Cardinal Cardinals seem to like winter. A Male Cardinal’s brilliant red body can cheer us up, particularly when viewed against the falling snow. Cardinals don’t migrate and don’t molt into a dull plumage. They stay breathtakingly beautiful against winter’s snow.
Dark-eyed Junco The snowfall makes a nice background for a Dark-eyed Junco. The Juncos are common around here and stay around all winter. They seem to like the nearby woodland areas, but also hang around the bird feeder, particularly in the winter when it snows.
Bird Branch Where is the bird? Well, there is no bird. It flew away. Still, I just like this image. It’s about the budding tree and snow showers.
Sparrow Sparrows are very common and plentiful in northern Illinois. Many folks don’t pay much attention to them. They can still make a nice photo.
House Finch House Finch love small, black oil sunflower seed. My backyard feeder is a general outdoor bird feed which contains some sunflower seed. They show up by the dozen in the winter
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Last Snow Birds.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Backyard Winter Birds | Male Dark-eyed Junco Dark Eyed Juncos are common around here. They seem to like the nearby woodland areas as well as the bird feeder. Mostly, they feed on the ground under the bird feeder, then make their ticking calls as they fly up into the woods or bushes. For the whole story with all images, see Backyard Winter Birds | a 7 Image Story.
