birding, photography and living with pet birds
Posted in junco on Dec 12th, 2012
The Dark-eyed Junco has two different subspecies. Utah has the “Oregon” Junco sub-species, which I posted about recently. Illinois has the “Slate-colored” Junco variety. The difference is so huge, I don’t understand why they aren’t different species. The “Oregon” Junco has a black head and a brown back. These juncos are very gray. [...]
Posted in junco on Aug 3rd, 2012
The Uintas had a lot of Dark-eyed Juncos. This was the first time that I’ve seen a baby junco. For awhile I thought he was a White-crowned Sparrow because they were in close proximity, but the coloring didn’t match. I kept thinking about his brown back and pink beak and the ID clicked! [...]
Posted in junco on Jul 24th, 2011
Last weekend I hiked a trail up in Big Cottonwood called Willow Trail. Although it’s near Solitude, the trail wasn’t very busy because it starts off very steep and doesn’t have a nice boardwalk for people to stroll. But it’s just as beautiful as the Silver Lake trail with gorgeous views. There’s still snow on [...]
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 [...]
Posted in junco on Jul 18th, 2009
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 [...]