This blog – text and photos – are by Olivia Schouten, one of our Hubbard Fellows.  Olivia and her colleague Alex Brechbill will be wrapping up their year with us next week.  It’s been a fantastic year, and we will miss their thoughtful observations and good humor. 

Last month I got the chance to blabber about my love of November and autumn, but now I can talk about something I love about winter! We’ve actually had snow this year (I haven’t gotten much these last couple years living in Kansas), and while that’s not what I’m going to talk about, I do think the colder weather is what brought this particular piece of winter to my back patio.

I’m talking about snowbirds! Dark-eyed juncos and American tree sparrows to be exact. These little sparrows nest far to the north during the summer, and while they do come south for the winter, they stop just at the leading edge of the cold, sometimes not even reaching as far south as Kansas during warm winters. They can be found in mixed flocks pecking around on the ground, especially under bird feeders, for seeds throughout the colder months, twiting and seeting away.

I mention these birds because they arrived on the Platte today (Dec. 4)! Or at least, that’s when I noticed them for the first time. I have a bird feeder set up just outside the kitchen windows, and I’ve been supplying the local birds with black oil sunflower seeds for a couple months now. The vast majority of visitors have been nonnative house sparrows, so imagine my delight when I noticed a little group of tree sparrows had stopped for a snack this morning! Shortly afterward, a small group of juncos joined them, and I knew immediately that winter had officially arrived.

While several species of birds certainly fly south for the winter, with all members of their species fleeing to Central or South America for warmer climes and plenty of food, you might be surprised at how many of our local birds actually stick it out. For example, robins can be found in most portions of their range year-round, and I’ve witnessed more than once a robin singing on especially warm winter days. Meadowlarks are another species that can actually be seen in much of their range for the entire year.

Now, it’s very likely that the robins and meadowlarks seen in the winter aren’t the exact same birds that nest in that location in the summer. These species do migrate to an extent, with their range shifting south during the winter months, leaving their northern reaches free of birds and inhabiting new areas in the south. However, theirs are not migrations of thousands of miles. Instead, birds only move a few hundred miles at most. The behavior of these birds also changes drastically during the winter months. They are much more reclusive, and since the males aren’t singing constantly, they certainly seem to disappear.

So while juncos and tree sparrows have a reputation as cold-enduring species, I think it’s worth giving our other local birds some recognition. They’re here during the winter as well, they’re just not as obvious about it.