[tag, blizzard,  juncos]

It is 9pm and finally Winter Storm Jonas has lost his snowy, icy steam and blown himself away. However, I must admit, it was a fun day to watch all the activity outside today. We spent much of the day with our noses pressed against the glass observing and delighting in what Mother Nature was blowing our way.

Naturally, the morning was greeted with much enthusiasm by the kids. (It was our first REAL snow of the season after all!) Mister immediately jumped out of bed to check if the snow had started yet. It had, with accumulation much greater than I anticipated this early in the day. But I was more impressed with his next comment. "Mommy, let's see if the juncos are out in this yet!" Yes, he wanted to see if the birds were at the feeder in the middle of a snow storm.

Last winter we had observed that the dark eyed junco would be the one bird that always seemed to feed during a snowstorm. Sure enough, we spotted six juncos on the spot. They were spread out between the suet feeder, the nyger feeder, our tube feeder with a songbird mix of seed and the tree. He was excited to see his prediction was correct.

We had frequent checks out the window all day long. There was much to see with the snow swirling around and piling up to amounts the kids had not witnessed in one storm before. As well, the kids and I consistently observed six juncos either feeding or hopping along the ground until late this afternoon. These birds were also joined by a downy woodpecker, a tufted titmouse, a house finch, and a cardinal through out the day. And a young squirrel ventured out for the droppings a couple times as well. These visitors didn't stay long. They quickly ate and left to what I imagine were more comfortable places to wait out the storm.

It is also amazing what children (and adults) will learn while watching wildlife in the middle of a blizzard. Both children had fun noticing how quickly the squirrels tracks were filled in by the falling snow. The Mister noticed that by the end of the day, the juncos were no longer able to remain on top of the snow; they sank up to their chests, but could still easily fly up to the tree. The Missus noticed how often the cardinal would eat quickly, and then fly under the bush for shelter before nibbling again. The advantage of the leeward side of things were then explained(and tested later when we went out to play). I noticed, that except for the cardinal, the other visitors only came when the winds and snow seemed to ease up a bit. The juncos were the true die hards staying around in the white, powdery mess we will remember as Winter Storm Jonas.

So, next time you think you are trapped inside due to the weather outside, look out the window and see what Mother Nature is teaching and showing you. Nature studies are not limited to the outdoors. And, if you were able to have any nature "studies" today, please comment below.

Nature Study Note:

The dark eyed junco belongs to the sparrow family of birds. Often they have black/slate heads and upper bodies, with white stomachs. Females may have lighter gray to brown upper body coloring. Often they tend to feed and hop on the ground in forests. They are frequent visitors to backyard feeders as well. According to our New Jersey Birds guide book, they are year round birds in New Jersey, but we have spotted them most frequently from late fall/early winter to very early spring.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Dark-eyed_Junco/id