There have been summer resident juncos at Sweet Melissa’s ice cream shop in downtown Ithaca for two years now.
On Fri, May 22, 2026 at 11:42 AM Donna Lee Scott <[email protected]> wrote: > 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] > Archives: > The Mail Archive: //www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > <https:%3Ca%20href=>/maillist.html" class="hft-urls">https: > //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: //www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > <https:%3Ca%20href=>/maillist.html" class="hft-urls">https: > //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. --
