bird 3

in the "taken from my porch" series, this is bird three.

dark-eyed junco
junco hyemalis

i woke up this morning thinking about today's blip (of course). would i follow up from yesterday's with another humble object? standing at the sink, i looked out to see a fox sparrow. this is an uncommon species in maine, so i grabbed my camera and stepped out on the porch. my lens trailed this fox sparrow for quite some time, looking for the perfect shot, and then the sparrow flew off. no luck. i was out there already, so i tried for some other birds, chickadees, woodpeckers, even a titmouse! nothing great. while i was waiting for the next interesting bird to fly in, i took this photo of a junco.

juncos are sweet little birds. they are in the sparrow family. they feed in small flocks. their most distinguishing feature is the white outer tail feathers that flash when they fly. the females are slightly browner. emphasis on slightly. they are here spring to fall. i do not usually notice they are gone until i see them return in the spring. a "welcome back. didn't realize you had left." sort of thing.

i enjoy different species of birds for different reasons. cheerfulness. feistiness. beauty. presence. rarity. and yes - even stupidity (that's the mourning dove). the junco doesn't fit into any of these categories.

as i blip this, i realize i have a newfound affection for this simple and humble bird. overlooked and none too showy, the junco fits me just right.