Crozet, VA 1/18-19/2022

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

Old Trail; January 18

After posting my report from January 18, I got an email from Marlene Condon suggesting that my female Dark-eyed Junco photo might be a Cassiar Junco (Junco hyemalis cismontanus) which is a Rocky Mountain hybrid (intergrade) of the Western Oregon subspecies and the continental Slate-colored subspecies of the Dark-eyed Juncos. While I had heard of this type of Dark-eyed Junco, I had never seen one before.

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Female Cassiar(?) Junco

I took another look at my photos, and it appears that I may have photographed a male(?) Cassiar(?) as well, but perhaps its dark coloring might have been a shadow/lighting effect.

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Female Cassiar(?) Junco

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Female Cassiar(?) Junco

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Female Cassiar(?) Junco

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Male(?) Cassiar(?) Junco

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Male(?) Cassiar(?) Junco

Old Trail; January 19

I was eager to look for these two birds again, so I went back to the same area where I had seen them on January 18. There were lots of small birds: Field, Song, White-throated, and Chipping Sparrows; House Finches; American Goldfinches; Yellow-rumped Warblers; and Eastern Bluebirds. I relocated both the male(?) and the female Cassiar(?) Juncos.

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Female Cassiar(?) Junco

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Male(?) Cassiar(?) Junco

All of the sudden it got very quiet and all the little birds were gone. I looked up and saw why.

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Cooper's Hawk

I waited around for the hawk to leave, and about 15 minutes later, the little birds showed up again. I didn't see the male(?) Cassiar(?) Junco again, but the female(?) re-appeared.

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Female Cassiar(?) Junco

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Female Cassiar(?) Junco

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Female Cassiar(?) Junco

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Female Cassiar(?) Junco

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Female Cassiar(?) Junco

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Female Cassiar(?) Junco

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Female Cassiar(?) Junco

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Female Cassiar(?) Junco

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Female Cassiar(?) Junco

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Female Cassiar(?) Junco

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Female Cassiar(?) Junco

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Female Cassiar(?) Junco

I contacted my three birding gurus (John Rowlett, Walt Childs, and Steve Rottenborn) for their opinions. All three of them said that they couldn't postively say that it was a Cassiar, nor could they positively rule it out. EBird shows that Cassiar Juncos have been occasionally reported in the eastern US, and mostly during the winter months. So it's worth learning about these birds and being on the lookout for them. My plan is to keep checking that same area, and if I can definitely find and photograph a male Junco that looks like the Oregon subspecies, then I can confirm these birds as Cassiars.


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