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) <[email protected]> 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 -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Visit: http://LISTS.cornell.edu for more information Posting Address: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Archives: The Mail Archive: //www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]<https:<a%20href=>/maillist.html" class="hft-urls">https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]<mailto://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]>/maillist.html Sightings: Please submit your observations to eBird at http://www.ebird.org. -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Visit: http://LISTS.cornell.edu for more information Posting Address: [email protected] Archives: The Mail Archive: https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html Sightings: Please submit your observations to eBird at http://www.ebird.org. --
