In the almost 40 years I have lived in this location I have only very rarely seen a Dark-eyed Junco in my garden next to the riparian woodland of Putah Creek. A small group would overwinter quite consistently in a small area about half mile upstream from me, feeding often on the crushed olives on my neighbor’s driveway. They seem to have left a little while ago. So I was quite surprised when a female Dark-eyed Junco flushed today out of a low weedy bank next to my trail directly behind my house and only 10 feet away from the creek. When I carefully checked I found a cup nest with three eggs tucked behind a small tuft of grass built into the dirt of the bank about 1-2 ft above my trail. How common is it to have juncos nest in our area?
Manfred Kusch
3 miles west of Davis
South bank of Putah Creek
