The first Dark-eyed Junco appeared in my yard on October 15th. I keep a record of their arrival each fall, and sometimes they arrive as early as the last week in September. The latest arrival I’ve recorded in the 12 years I’ve been keeping track is October 21st (in 2019).
Like White-throated Sparrows, these birds prefer to feed on the ground by scratching at leaf litter, and you can also find them under bird feeders looking for any stray seeds that have been dropped by other birds.
Juncos winter in flocks and often arrive in my backyard in the fall with White-throated Sparrows. The juncos stick around for the winter, but most of the sparrows feed on seeds in my flowerbeds and under my arborvitaes and then move a little further south for the winter.