Date: 5/23/26 6:00 am From: Evelyn Weinstein <myisland3...> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Dark-eyed Juncos - a suburban summer yard bird now??
I have seen them in multiple places on my own property which has very few
conifers! Good observations all!
On Fri, May 22, 2026 at 3:35 PM Jerry Skinner <jay2of6...> wrote:
> There have been summer resident juncos at Sweet Melissa’s ice cream shop
> in downtown Ithaca for two years now.
>
>
> On Fri, May 22, 2026 at 11:42 AM Donna Lee Scott <dls9...> wrote:
>
>> DE Juncos built a nest in a pot of New Guinea Impatiens in a metal stand
>> near the front/main entry of a Kendal cottage in the south/middle side of
>> this Ithaca old folks home this spring.
>> …In a cluster of “cottages”(row houses, really). Lots of cement
>> sidewalks.
>> No good habitat anywhere nearby. Just a few ornamental trees.
>>
>> The resident has counted 4 eggs.
>> Bird-savvy person, so he will be careful not to water nest.
>>
>> Donna Scott
>> Kendal at Ithaca-377
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On May 22, 2026, at 11:12 AM, david nicosia (via CAYUGABIRDS-L list) <
>> <CAYUGABIRDS-L...> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> Now that I am retired, I’ve been taking some time to document the
>> breeding Dark-eyed Juncos in my neighborhood here in Johnson City, and I’m
>> amazed at how they have transitioned into a common "backyard" summer
>> breeder.
>>
>> For context, I have had nesting Juncos on my property for years, which
>> I’ve always attributed to my dense spruce/fir cover and year-round feeding.
>> However, I’ve recently been mapping singing males in the surrounding
>> neighborhood, and the habitat selection is fascinating:
>>
>> -
>>
>> *Observation 1:* A male singing from the top of a utility pole in an
>> area with very few conifers or dense brush.
>> -
>>
>> *Observation 2:* A male in better habitat (adjacent to woods) singing
>> from the top of a basketball backboard.
>> -
>>
>> *Observation 3:* A male singing from a rooftop surrounded by small
>> blue spruce/arborvitae, again in a yard with limited cover.
>>
>> By contrast, I walked a steep, north-facing hillside across from my house
>> this morning—a mature northern hardwood forest with hemlocks, red pine, and
>> Norway spruce—and I recorded zero Juncos. They seem to show a strong
>> preference for the south-facing suburban yards, which stands in stark
>> contrast to my memories from 40+ years ago, when finding a summer Junco
>> required trekking into deep, shaded ravines.
>>
>> For a species so strongly associated with boreal breeding and
>> cold-adapted affinities, this shift seems quite significant. I am reminded
>> of the well-documented adaptation of the Oregon subspecies of the Dark-Eyed
>> Junco in Southern California. Are we seeing a similar pathway for *
>> hyemalis* here in the East?
>>
>> Has anyone else noticed this trend in their local areas? I would be very
>> interested to hear if others are seeing this shift toward suburban nesting
>> or if there are any current studies investigating this behavioral
>> plasticity.
>>
>> Best,
>> Dave Nicosia
>> --
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