Wintergreen
Nelson County, Virginia
It’s official! As of Friday morning at 7:44 AM EDT, Spring is here. Our Mountain Photographer, Paul Purpura, found a Junco that is all excited about it too! According to National Geographic, “in the Northern Hemisphere spring officially begins at 7:44 a.m. ET on Friday, March 20, 2009—the vernal equinox, or spring equinox.” They have a really nice article you can read by clicking here, that has more than you’d ever want to know about Spring.
After the comments this morning, Henri Weems wanted to make sure we had an authentic bluebird shot. Henris gives us a little background here:
Paul & Tommy,
Here is a bluebird for comparison.
Blues are valley residents since they love open fields.
Juncos will live at either mountain or valley, arrive in late fall,
and will depart soon to head north.
When they are gone it will be spring!Henri
Thanks for the pic and the info Henri!
Locally, it will be a fantastic Spring weekend with mostly sunny skies Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with temps rising to the lower 60’s by Sunday afternoon for highs.
A complete weather roundup in Tommy’s Weather. Click here.
Enjoy!
Ah Spring. Nice pic but it sure looks like the famous Nelson Laughing Junco to me.
Tommy, that is a rare and strange looking Bluebird! Looks more like a Junco to me. j.
Hey John & Kevin, you may very well be right. I assure you , I do not know birds. I knew if it wasn’t I would probably hear about it! So, it’s two votes for junco so far! I’ll do a little more research. Paul are we sure this is a bluebird? Where’s Marlin Perkins when you need him? Ann Strober and Milly Colella HELP!!
Definitely a Junco but a nice photo. We’ve got lots of bluebirds and robins hanging around though.
No Tommy, looks like we definitely have an OOPS! here. I used the term bluebird literally in my email to you.
I know less about birds than you do. If people more knowledgable about birds than us say it is a Junco, then I would believe them. I do know that the Junco is a very common bird. And he was singing quite nicely. At least I think he was a he. Do female Juncos sing?
Best regards,
Paul
Paul’s photo looks like a male. These “snowbirds” are here in the winter but will be migrating soon. Bluebirds tend to stick around all year (at least at my house!). They’re a slimmer bird, bright blue with a reddish breast. Females are a dul blue-grey with the reddish breast. They don’t sing so much as they chitter. Their beaks are thinner and longer than a junco’s and are dark. So much for today’s bird geekiness!
I love the picture of the little Junco, and yes it is a Junco. Sometimes they are referred to as snow birds; hopefully he is not singing a tune we do not want to hear.