The lemony yellow goldfinches at your feeder this summer will probably stick around for the winter, but look for them to be wearing brownish yellow plumage this time of year. They may even be joined by some of our winter finches like pine grosbeaks, pine siskins or common redpolls.

One favorite harbinger of winter is the arrival of the dark-eyed juncos. This slatey gray songbird with the snowy white belly is also sometimes called a snowbird from the way it arrives every winter. Watch for them to feed on the ground around your feeders.

If you put out suet cakes, you’re bound to draw woodpeckers. Our most common visitors are downy and hairy woodpeckers. With their black and white checkerboard plumage they look very similar, but with a little practice you can tell them apart by their size (downies are smaller with shorter bills). Here’s an easy suet recipe from the Audubon Society.

Snow buntings often travel in flocks and can be found in open areas where seeds are available. Look for them along the edges of large farm fields where crops have been harvested. They blend in with the snow on the ground, so watch carefully to spot them when they move.

We don’t see snowy owls every winter. They only come south when there’s not enough food on their breeding grounds. They’re solitary birds and they hunt areas that remind them of the open tundra they usually call home - Great Lakes shorelines, large meadows, sports fields, parking lots or anything else that’s flat without tall vegetation. They’re regularly found hunting at airports (but check whether airport security allows access before heading out).

Bald eagles can be found where there is food. That means looking for open water, but it can also mean finding a deer carcass. Eagles aren’t territorial in the winter and it’s not unusual to find two, three or more eagles foraging along the same stretch of river or scavenging off the same carcass.