Dark-eyed Junco / Junco hyemalis

This little Dark-eyed Junco was seen, along with a second one, yesterday morning, 19 November 2015. I so rarely see these birds, though they are not uncommon.

"Dark-eyed Juncos are neat, even flashy little sparrows that flit about forest floors of the western mountains and Canada, then flood the rest of North America for winter. They’re easy to recognize by their crisp (though extremely variable) markings and the bright white tail feathers they habitually flash in flight. One of the most abundant forest birds of North America, you’ll see juncos on woodland walks as well as in flocks at your feeders or on the ground beneath them." From AllAboutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/dark-eyed_junco/id

"Adults generally have gray heads, necks, and breasts, gray or brown backs and wings, and a white belly, but show a confusing amount of variation in plumage details. The white outer tail feathers flash distinctively in flight and while hopping on the ground. The bill is usually pale pinkish. Males tend to have darker, more conspicuous markings than the females." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark-eyed_junco

Friends had seen a family of three Bobcats two days earlier, and, though I knew it was highly unlikely that they would be seen again, I didn't want to learn later that I had again missed seeing them. Needless to say, there was no sign of them yesterday. Also, I had missed the walk last week, so didn't feel guilty about going on two mornings this week. As it turned out, there was little of anything to be seen during this three hour walk in Weaselhead, but the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day, despite the temperature being -6°C to -2°C. There was a fair amount of new snow, but it had been packed down and so was reasonably safe for walking.

This is the leaders' list of the 21 bird species seen:

Canada Goose-300+
Mallard-8
Bald Eagle-2 (1 ad/1 juv.)
Downy Woodpecker-5
Hairy Woodpecker-1
Northern Flicker-4+
PILEATED WOODPECKER-1
Northern Shrike-1
Blue Jay-3+
Black-billed Magpie-12
Common Raven-2+
Black-capped Chickadee-40+
Boreal Chickadee-2
Red-breasted Nuthatch-1
White-breasted Nuthatch-3
Bohemian Waxwing-150+
Dark-eyed Junco-3
Pine Grosbeak-10
House Finch-6
White-winged Crossbill-100+
Common Redpoll-20