{"id":12007,"date":"2018-12-05T13:34:51","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T18:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=12007"},"modified":"2018-12-18T11:53:39","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T16:53:39","slug":"an-epic-winter-for-nomadic-finches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/an-epic-winter-for-nomadic-finches\/","title":{"rendered":"An Epic Winter For Nomadic Finches"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every few winters, several bird species abandon their normal wintering areas to our northwest, and move into Massachusetts by the thousands. While distantly related, redpolls, siskins, and grosbeaks all rely on food sources that go through boom and bust cycles, peaking and crashing every 3-6 years. When conifer and birch seeds are scarce in Canada\u2019s boreal forest, these loosely-related species irrupt southwards in search of food.<\/p>\n

The core group of these birds are collectively called \u201cwinter finches,\u201d and this year will be huge for them!<\/p>\n

Species On The Move In 2018:<\/h3>\n

Evening Grosbeaks<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Evening<\/a>

Evening Grosbeak \u00a9 MDF (CC BY-SA 3.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

This year, these sunset-yellow, black and white-patterned finches are the stars of the show. It\u2019s been a few years since Massachusetts saw any wintertime movement of Evening Grosbeaks into the state, and the last major irruption was in the 1990s.<\/p>\n

Unlike many winter finches, Evening Grosbeaks seem equally happy feeding on several food types\u2014both fruits and large seeds. They’ll come to feeders, but their bulky size means that they prefer large platform feeders and will avoid tube feeders. Their fruit-eating tendencies means that they often move south with two other frugivores, Bohemian Waxwings and Pine Grosbeaks, which may show up in smaller numbers this year.<\/p>\n

Common Redpolls<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

Common Redpoll \u00a9 Simon Pierre Barrette<\/p><\/div>\n

These finches specialize in eating birch catkins, and birches are the best place to look for them.\u00a0Ornithologists predict<\/a> a big redpoll incursion into the northeast this winter. Redpolls got a slow start in Massachusetts this year, but are starting to show up in larger numbers, especially in the Northern and Western parts of the state.<\/p>\n

Red-breasted Nuthatches<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

Red-breasted Nuthatch \u00a9 Richard Alvarnaz<\/p><\/div>\n

While technically not a winter finch, this species is nearly as nomadic, and this year is big for them. Their relative, the White-breasted Nuthatch, is a year-round resident and common backyard bird.<\/p>\n

Red-breasted Nuthatches made a very early southward movement this year, with many appearing as early as late summer, heralding a major incursion of wandering finches later in the season.<\/p>\n

Pine Siskins<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

Pine Siskin \u00a9 Terri Nickerson<\/p><\/div>\n

Siskins are showing up in abundance right now! These small finches with yellow-streaked wings love small seeds. Hang up feeders filled with nyjer or thistle seeds to take advantage of their incursion.<\/p>\n

Where To Look<\/h3>\n

In addition to feeders, groves of spruce trees can be great places to look for seed-eating winter finches like siskins and crossbills. Redpolls are drawn to birch catkins. Fruit-eating finches often take well to ornamental varieties of crabapples, which bear fruit through the winter, so look for grosbeaks and waxwings anywhere large groves of these have been planted\u2014which sometimes means office parks, parking lots, and gardens.<\/p>\n

Feeders Up!<\/h3>\n

Last year was an excellent year for cone crops in Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, leading to increased reproduction for seed-eating birds. This means that while spruce seeds, birch catkins, and mountain-ash berries are scarce in Ontario and Quebec, there will be loads of hungry birds looking for them\u2014and moving into the US in search of food.<\/p>\n

Birdfeeders do help birds survive harsh winters when food is scarce (though there\u2019s a some This is a great time of year to put out black-oil sunflower seeds and nyjer seeds\u2014two of winter finches\u2019 favorite staples at birdfeeders.<\/p>\n

For a more in-depth look at this year\u2019s incursion of Evening Grosbeaks and their shifting distribution in New England, check out our birding blog<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every few winters, several bird species abandon their normal wintering areas to our northwest, and move into Massachusetts by the thousands. While distantly related, redpolls, siskins, and grosbeaks all rely on food sources that go through boom and bust cycles, peaking and crashing every 3-6 years. When conifer and birch seeds are scarce in Canada\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":12028,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[27,28,296],"class_list":["post-12007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nature-notes","tag-birding","tag-birds","tag-winter-birds"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/12\/Coccothraustes-vespertinus-001.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-37F","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14894,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/siskins-and-grosbeaks-and-purple-finches-oh-my\/","url_meta":{"origin":12007,"position":0},"title":"Siskins and Grosbeaks and Purple Finches, Oh My!","author":"William Freedberg","date":"November 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Most bird species overwinter in the same general area from year to year. Not so with some finches. Around eight species of winter finch become nomadic in winter, sometimes crossing the continent in search of food. One reason these birds don\u2019t stick to an annual pattern is the annually shifting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pine Siskin. 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The swallows are gone, the egrets have fled, and \u00a0shorebirds and warblers have pushed their way south. You may well ask, \u201cWhat do we do we look for now?\u201d In many ways, Massachusetts is perfectly suited for winter birding, thanks in part to our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/11\/purple-sandpiper_Richard-Johnson-and-Mass-Audubon.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10943,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/spring-migration-is-finally-here\/","url_meta":{"origin":12007,"position":2},"title":"Spring Migration is Finally Here","author":"William Freedberg","date":"May 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"On the evening of Tuesday, May 1, a wave of migratory birds arrived in Massachusetts. While some early-migrating species have been trickling in since April, Wednesday, May 2, marks the beginning of the season for our most colorful migrants. Scarlet Tanagers, Yellow Warblers, melodious Wood Thrushes, and a host of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Get Outdoors"","block_context":{"text":"Get Outdoors","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/get-outdoors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rose-breasted Grosbeak","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/05\/rosebreastedgrosbeak600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/05\/rosebreastedgrosbeak600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/05\/rosebreastedgrosbeak600.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8489,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/bird-seed-basics\/","url_meta":{"origin":12007,"position":3},"title":"Bird Seed Basics","author":"Hillary T.","date":"December 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Want to see birds without ever having to leave home? 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And don't be concerned about creating a hardship for birds should you decide to take a hiatus\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/12\/161SusumuKishihara3650.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/12\/161SusumuKishihara3650.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/12\/161SusumuKishihara3650.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14999,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-red-breasted-nuthatches\/","url_meta":{"origin":12007,"position":4},"title":"Take 5: Red-Breasted Nuthatches","author":"Ryan D.","date":"December 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Folks this fall have been seeing a lot of Red-breasted Nuthatches\u2014a bird that is more commonly seen in regions north of Massachusetts (though not uncommon in the western part of the state). 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