Birds of Inwood

Lately I’ve been drawing and painting Dark-eyed Juncos, quintessential winter birds. During the recent snowfalls and bouts of freezing weather, I have looked for flocks of these little New World sparrows. I often find them in company of the Tufted Titmice, the White-throated Sparrows, and the Black-capped Chickadees, but sometimes the juncos are off on their own.

The appearance of juncos fascinates me, as they look just like eggs you would pull out of the refrigerator but with dark feathers on top. The males have darker markings. They are lively little birds with a trilling song, and I love when they alight to a branch flashing their outer white tail feathers.

Dark-eyed Juncos tend to forage on the ground, and when it snows, their round white bellies barely stay above ground. They have pale bills, and they use them to munch on whatever seeds are available. During their Canadian breeding season, they forage for insects. 

I often see these creatures of the woodlands along the trails in the Clove. They blanket the paths, swooping up to the trees when people pass by. Apparently, the individuals are ruled by a pecking order, but I haven’t been able to discern their politics in any one instance.

Dark-eyed Juncos are good subjects for drawing practice. The hardest part of junco drawing is capturing the sparkle in their little dark eyes.

Cornell’s All About Birds estimates a population of 630 million worldwide. (source)

Cover: Mixed media portrait of a Dark-eyed Junco in sketchbook. 6” x 8” inches.

January 2025 Sightings

With the cold and snowy weather as well as work commitments, I’ve been missing some sightings reported by others, including mute swans and mergansers. On the other hand, I have been keeping tabs on my local Red-tailed Hawk. It most always hunts near the park entrance closest to me, so I see it often. I like to think that we’ve developed a relationship and that it waits for me to enter the park. I wear a red cap so it will notice me. See the January 2025 page for closeups of my favorite hawk.

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