We can check NestWatch. Had them singing inthe Von Engeln preserve yesterday but that is a classic little refuge. A glacial scoop with big pond. Lots of conifer. I will remind any who knew that a pair nestedAnd did not migrate for years in bu greenhouses. Started to demand food by flying into the office. Brought off broodsInvarious hangingBaskets. Anne Sent from my iPhone
On May 24, 2026, at 8:22 PM, Victor Lamoureux <vlamoureux9...> wrote:
Dave…. I am curious if you heard anything from the Cornell folks on this? Too bad eBird doesn’t go far enough back to illuminate this idea. But think how valuable the data we all input will be in 50 years! (Or less!) Victor On Sun, May 24, 2026 at 20:17 Tracie Scott <theidler88...> wrote:
We also have juncos in our yard all year round. We live on a hill with mature trees and a wooded area nearby. I've had a junco nest in a hanging flower pot before but they mostly nest inside my large boxwoods against the house. When a lot of birds have gone for the winter, there are always a few juncos that stay. I have several dwarf Alberta spruces they like to use as cover too. Tracie Scott Get Outlook for iOS
From: 'Susan D Boyce' via bluewing-group <bluewing-group...> Sent: Saturday, May 23, 2026 4:52:38 PM To: <pcarman65...> <pcarman65...> Cc: <vlamoureux9...> <vlamoureux9...>; <daven1024...> <daven1024...>; Cayuga Birds List <cayugabirds-l...>; Bluewing-group Bird Report <bluewing-group...> Subject: Re: [External Email] Re: [bluewing-group] Dark-eyed Juncos - a suburban summer yard bird now?? Echoing Paula, we too have a flock of 10-12 juncos wintering followed by a couple pair nesting in the arborvitae over the summer months. The males will sing from the roof tops!!! Sent from my iPhone
On May 23, 2026, at 2:12 PM, Paula Carman <pcarman65...> wrote:
Hi Dave et al, Juncos have been a daily year round visitor to our backyard, for 50+ years. We have a small flock in the winter and a couple pair in summer. I once discovered an active nest on the side of the driveway, just under the grass edge overhang. Paula
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On May 23, 2026, at 1:06 PM, Victor Lamoureux <vlamoureux9...> wrote:
Hi Dave, I think your general observations jive with what I was taught as an early birder.... That juncos would get scarce in the Spring / Summer, and you had to go to certain forests in the County, usually at a higher elevation, in order to get them. Interestingly, in our Big Bird Day data I recently sent out we have had junco EVERY SINGLE YEAR and never missed it. I feel like we were always worried about missing it and we would need to target specific forests for them. But in the last bunch of years, it has become fairly easy to get them, and often at LOTS of locations (although looking at our final tally Trip Reprt we only recorded one on King St for the day). Glad to see you are picking up a new hobby in retirement! Victor On Fri, May 22, 2026 at 11:11 AM 'david nicosia' via bluewing-group <bluewing-group...> 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:
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Observation 1: A male singing from the top of a utility pole in an area with very few conifers or dense brush.
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Observation 2: A male in better habitat (adjacent to woods) singing from the top of a basketball backboard.
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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.
