I have had more Dark-eyed Juncos in my backyard in the last two weeks than added up together throughout the winter. They are flocking together for their trip back to Canada for the summer months.
These little ground-feeding birds help clean up all the seeds that fall from the hanging feeders all winter long. I also toss millet and safflower on the ground for them until about April when the chipmunks come out of hiding.
Here’s a fun fact about juncos from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: “The Dark-eyed Junco is one of the most common birds in North America and can be found across the continent, from Alaska to Mexico, from California to New York. A recent estimate set the junco’s total population at approximately 630 million individuals.”
