Both Dark-eyed Juncos???

[Dan P]

These two birds were photographed on 8-27-2020 about 7 minutes apart in the late afternoon on my balcony under a bird feeder in Glenoaks Canyon, Glendale, CA.  The following day two similar birds were seen together in the same place.

Are these both Dark-eyed Juncos?  If so, is the second one a female or juvenile?

[Colton V]

Yes, both are Dark-Eyed Juncos. I think they are juveniles. First one might be molting adult?

[Charlie Spencer]

@Dan P, I know this isn't what you asked about, but your photo shows lots of seed on the balcony.  It looks like you're buying one of the inexpensive 'Wild Bird Seed'.  If you look at the mix, you'll see a lot of those little round reddish seeds.  They're on your deck because most birds that come to a feeder won't eat them.  While those mixes seem inexpensive, you're paying mostly for seeds the birds ignore.  You might consider switching to a 'No Mess' mix for decks.  Black oil sunflower seed is another option; it's cheaper than the 'No Mess' mixes but you will have to sweep up the seed hulls the birds leave behind.  Both are more expensive than generic mixes but you won't be wasting your money.

Just my two cents.  Feel free to ignore me; my Darling Bride usually does.

[Dan P]

Thanks for the advice Charlie.

[Colton V]

2 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said:

@Dan P, I know this isn't what you asked about, but your photo shows lots of seed...

Do all birds that come to feeders eat black oil sunflower seeds? Also, does it have to be black oil sunflower? The store near my house sells a massive 30-pound bag of the large striped sunflower seeds for a decent price. 

Edited August 31, 2020 by Colton V

[Charlie Spencer]

23 minutes ago, Colton V said:

Do all birds that come to feeders eat black oil sunflower seeds?

The vast majority do.  If you can only offer one type of food, black oil sunflower seed (or BOSS) will attract the widest variety of backyard feeder-visiting species.  Add a suet feeder and a hummingbird feeder and you'll get most of what doesn't eat BOSS.  Start with those before you go for the more specialized / more expensive stuff like peanuts, grape jelly, safflower, nyger / thistle, peanuts in the shell, mealworms, cracked corn, 'no mess', fruit and nut blends, etc.

I would never pay for expensive store-bought hummingbird food.  You can make your own with 1/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water (no honey, artificial sweeteners, molasses, etc, and no food coloring; just plain old white sugar only).  Nuke it for a couple of minute and stir to dissolve, and let it cool before filling the feeders (use the waiting time to wash those hummie feeders!).  Any unused portion will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

There are indeed some birds that will eat those little round red and white millet seeds.  Doves will eat it but they'll eat darn near anything.  The others are mostly game birds though, and few people that are starting out feeding birds live in areas where those birds will visit a feeder.  If you live where grouse, turkey, quail, etc are common, these mixes may be appropriate.  But even those birds will eat BOSS to a greater or lesser degree.

Edited August 31, 2020 by Charlie Spencer

[Connor Cochrane]

Only the second bird is young 

[Colton V]

2 hours ago, Connor Cochrane said:

Only the second bird is young 

Is the first one molting?