When the Juncos Drop In

I keep track of when I see my first Dark-eyed junco each fall—if I remember. I have 9 years of data so far (not consecutive).

The earliest junco arrived on September 28th (2016).

The latest one arrived on October 10th (2012).

This year’s token junco arrived right in between on October 4th.

Usually it’s one lone bird. A scout perhaps? Or maybe just one of those annoying creatures (like me!) who has to be on time for everything. Usually about a week or so later a small flock arrives to join the lone bird. This year that flock followed just 3 days later.