One of the joys of birding in the mountains of North Carolina during the late summer & autumn is finding the birds that one usually sees in the wintertime here in the Triangle region.
Commonly referred to as the “Snowbird” by residents of central and eastern NC, the Dark eyed Junco calls the higher elevations of western NC home year round.

Often traveling in small family flocks, these birds are constantly on the move as they forage in the low brushy scrub areas in a never ending search for a meal.
I spotted this one at the Craggy Gardens Picnic area along the Blue Ridge Parkway while leading a bird tour here last month. Interestingly, the Juncos that I’ve seen up in the mountains appear to be larger in size than the ones that I typically see in my yard in central NC during the winter. Whatever they are finding to eat around here clearly serves them well in building fat reserves for colder weather ahead 😉

During the warmer months, Dark eyed Juncos feed mainly on insects, seeds and occasionally berries. Once the cold weather arrives, their diet consists of entirely seeds.
They are known to practice an interesting foraging method called “riding.” They’ll fly up and land onto a seed cluster on the top of a flimsy stem then catch a gravity assisted “ride” it to the ground where they pick off the shower of seeds that dropped on the way down.
Thinking that the round ones I’ve seen up in the mountains have that behavior down to a science lol!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds