Are We In for a Strong Winter Finch Season?

A single Pine Siskin started visiting my feeders in late September.  Seven Evening Grosbeaks visited last Sunday.  Does the appearance of these birds mark the beginning of a strong season of winter finches?

The Pine Siskin is one of the "irruptive" winter finches, meaning they periodically move south during the winter in search of food.  These irruptions tend to follow a two-year cycle. For example, if you had large numbers of finches visiting your feeders during the winter of 2005-2006, chances are you had few or none visiting in the winter of 2006-2007.   

Here's a link from the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) showing Pine Siskin group sizes from the year 2000 to 2007.  It shows a pattern that roughly follows a 2-year cycle.  There were few Pine Siskins reported in New York for the February 2007 GBBC.  Following a typical biennial cycle, we can expect higher numbers of irruptive species such as Pine Siskins and Common Redpolls this coming winter.  Other irruptive winter finches seen in our area are Common Redpolls, Evening Grosbeaks, and Purple Finches.

A DC Birding Blog recently posted a summary of the Winter Finch Forecast out of Ontario Canada.  Overall, poor food supplies in Canada further suggest that we may have good numbers of these winter finches at our feeders this year.  Good news!

Watch your finch feeders for the very gregarious Pine Siskin and Common Redpoll.  And keep an eye on platform and hopper feeders for the beautiful Evening Grosbeak.

Comments

[The Zen Birdfeeder]

Monarch - I'd keep your eyes and ears open. We had two more Evening Grosbeaks in the yard today and as I type, I'm hearing them off in the distance too. I hope we're in for a special irruptive year!

[mon@rch]

you know, I thought I had a grosbeak vocalizing the other day but never did get to hear it! I probably should purchase some more seed and figure out who is around!