Dark-Eyes Juncos

Elizabeth — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:47:28 +0000

Although I haven’t had a lot of luck birding in Utah this winter, there is a pretty consistent supply of backyard birds that enjoy my feeders. I have great hopes for the backyard. I want to start gardening so I can grow my own vegetables, but I’m also planning the garden based on how I can attract more birds. We have a trellis covered in dead vines that the birds enjoy using as a perch. Once it’s filled with plants, they should be even more excited.

I’m happy to report that Utah has Dark-Eyed Juncos.

Juncos will forgo the feeders if there is any seed on the ground because they naturally eat in the grasslands.

Although they will use feeders if the ground is lacking food.

They blend quite well in their winter surroundings.

This is one of my favorite pictures because it looks like the threat of House Sparrows triggered the robot inside the junco.

must defend the feeder

Lastly, I’ve thrown in a lovely picture of a Dark-Eyed Junco from California. I’m pleased with the dappled background.

Dark-Eyed Juncos

Elizabeth — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:54:00 +0000

When I first started putting out cockatiel seed for the outdoor birds to eat, this little bird would join the sparrows. I could not identify him for the longest time because the vast majority of dark-eyed juncos are grey with white breasts (Slate-colored juncos). But finally, I realized that he was a dark-eyed junco. There are 15 different races of dark-eyed juncos and we have the Oregon variety. They’re remarkably abundant during the spring and summer. Other than at feeders, I always see them on the forest floor.

You can see with the junco on the left that they have lovely silver tail feathers.

The picture below is probably a female dark-eyed junco. The females are lighter in color. She was so obliging, just sitting there singing while I snapped pictures.

I tweaked this photo in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. The junco was only a few feet away from us and I was using a long lens, so I needed the software to make the picture clearer and the leaves brighter.

Here is a close up of the junco.

They disappear for the winter. I will really miss them so I’m soaking up the juncos right now.

Avian Explorer » dark-eyed junco

Dark-Eyes Juncos

Dark-Eyed Juncos