Last year, when I had just begun reading Margaret Renkl’s book, The Comfort of Crows, I was curious about spotting my “first bird” on New Year’s morning. It had been a blue jay. (Which is not surprising. I keep them supplied with peanuts, so they watch for me and call to each other whenever I go out in the yard.) (Seriously.) I thought it was kind of fun, but I didn’t really give it much more thought.
This year, I was much more excited to spot my first bird of the new year! It turned out to be the little guy up there in the photo (which is from the Merlin app, by the way) . . . a dark-eyed junco. Actually, it was a whole bunch of dark-eyed juncos. They tend to hang around in groups, and that’s what they were doing Wednesday morning as the sun came up . . . hanging around in a group under my feeders.
I googled my dark-eyed junco to see what his “symbolic associations” might be . . . and I found this on the gardeningknowhow.com website:
Dark-eyed juncos are survivors — these resilient birds are very adaptable and are often seen in winter. The birds also represent truth, simplicity, and harmony. Some cultures value juncos as a sign of hope and regeneration.
So, welcome to my year, little dark-eyed junco.
I’m ready for a little hope and regeneration!
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How about you? Did you spot your “first bird” this year?
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Read With Us
Just a reminder . . . Next Tuesday – January 7 – will be the Read With Us discussion day for our fall book selection, Intermezzo by Sally Rooney. If you haven’t RSVPd yet for the Zoom (details in sidebar), there’s still time — but please let me know soon. I’ll be sending out the Read With Us Zoom invitations on Monday. Hope you can join us.
In my “maturity” I’ve become more of a birdwatcher. Will keep an eye out for those juncos. How can I not? Their name itself is a delight. Thanks for the heads up!
Hope and regeneration sound great! My Grandmother (in Vermont) always called Juncos Snow Birds. I completely forgot about spotting a first bird of the new year!
We have the same bird Kym! Kindred spirits again.
My first bird was a tiny Downy Woodpecker! (I have lots of them that visit, so I was not surprised at all!) “My” bluejays do the same thing for the handful of peanuts I put out for them. I think they are just hilarious! (and if they see me head off with Frankie for a quick morning walk to burn off the overnight energy, they are quite in an uproar… lol)
Anyways, the gardening know how site says this about woodpeckers: “Woodpeckers are sacred birds in some cultures, but in general symbolize new opportunities, optimism, and courage.”
I will take all those new opportunities, optimism, and courage with me in 2025! (I fear we are all going to need it!)
My grandmother called juncos “Snow Birds”,too. My first bird was a pileated woodpecker! It was so large and dramatically colored that I could hardly miss it.
I had NO birds on Jan 1. A couple of days before there was a group of juncos in the back yard. But, I suppose that doesn’t count.
According to Merlin, I HEARD a tufted titmouse on Jan. 1. As hard as I tried I could not find him/her.
I don’t feel like I can count any of the birds I’ve seen here because they’re not native to where I live, so I’ll have to see what I spot first when we get home tomorrow. But we went to a local nature preserve yesterday and saw a lot of fun birds, including a new one for me, a blue-gray gnatcatcher. So tiny and cute!
My feeders were so crowded on NY’s day that I can’t know what my first bird was! Downy woodpeckers, crested titmouse, nuthatch, sparrows, wrens, juncos, and blue jays with a party pooper of a redtailed hawk. It was a busy morning at the feeder, and it always brings me great joy. It is very quiet today since the hawks are sentinels in my back yard this morning.
I do love this practice! and I finally SAW a bird this morning – an American Robin – which sadly is not in that list you linked … but I think it has “hope” in common with your dark-eyed junco. (and it also has optimism, which feels appropriate for me)
I love the little juncos. They are a bright spot in the winter landscape – even if they are gray and white. I think they have a lot of personality. It’s perfect for you – a resilient survivor, adaptable and symbolizing hope and regeneration. My first birds were two American Goldfinches – male – at the tube feeder attached to the deck.
I love that your first bird of the year was a dark eyed junco and the symbolism he represents is lovely. I don’t know if it was the first bird I saw but I do know that I noticed a pair of bluebirds on the morning of New Year’s Day so I’m going with that. I looked up their symbolism and, as it turns out, the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association named them as the symbol of their movement in 1915 because the bluebird symbolizes cheer and hope. That sure works for me for 2025!
My first bird of the year was a couple of mourning doves. I like to think they are descendants of the pair that had babies in a nest on our a/c unit a couple of summers ago.
We get a lot of dark-eyed juncos, too, along with black-capped chickadees, cardinals, and sometimes bluejays (though the jays must not be such a fan of the new food we have). It’s always so fun to watch them all!