Tuesday, Christmas Eve, 2024

A light snow drifts down from a gray sky this morning, while birds busy themselves at the feeders. Different groupings of birds come and go. Finches dominated the sunflower seeds for a spell: five raspberry-red male purple finches and a few brown-streaked females; a handful of male and female house finches, looking like drabber cousins; and a few, faintly yellow goldfinches.

Finches are charming but sloppy eaters. The spillage is helpful to the ground-feeders: juncos, white-throated sparrows, and the always opportunistic blue jays. The nearby crabapple, with its sprawling crown, serves as a safe space for all the songbirds to wait for an opening at the feeders.

By midday the sun is out. Close to our house and the dining room windows from which we watch, juncos and sparrows scratch the ground for fallen seeds of goldenrods, coneflowers, little bluestems, and sweet pepperbush. The stems of faded perennials and woody shrubs provide safe cover and protection from the wind. Juncos especially like these spaces. Through binoculars I watch a junco — a gray puffball with a light pink bill with a faint black tip — forage for seeds. The most common bird in our winter yard, yet they bring joy every day.