Male Oregon Junco among Sitka Spruce Cones – Small flocks of Oregon Race Juncos, which had not previously been reported on the Alaska Peninsula, along with Slate-colored Juncos – only occasionally or rarely encountered on the peninsula, became regular fall through spring visitors during our years at The Lake. The mystery is, where were these birds coming from? Slate-coloreds nest in taiga forests two or three hundred miles northeast at the peninsula’s hip and beyond, but the Oregon’s closest summertime breeding grounds are unknown and would seem to be much further south. Juncos were not recorded during David Narver’s studies in the early 1960’s. It will be fascinating to monitor these population trendsinto the future… there is always more to discover.October 14, 2017
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