Many of our birds that visit in the winter are boreal species from Canada.
These are irruptive species – when food supply dwindles farther north, these birds move into central and southern New England and beyond in search of food. This often happens in cycles, but this is predicted to be one of those years when many of these birds may move south out of Canada to central and southern New England.
Pine siskins, common redpolls, white-winged and red crossbills, purple finches, evening grosbeaks and pine grosbeaks are all lumped into this category of irruptive species that may invade our area in search of food. As the winter progresses, many of these birds will come to a feeder, so be on the lookout.
In preparation for all these beautiful birds that may visit this winter, you want to be sure to have sunflower, thistle and suet out and ready for them. These birds will augment our cardinals, chickadees and goldfinches, that will entertain us all winter long.
As the winter finch forecast predicted, grosbeaks, siskins, redpolls and crossbills, are being reported around the state, many in Essex County. More winter finches are moving into central and southern New England in search of food, so I will elaborate a little more on these birds that could very well show up at your feeders, maybe for the first time, this winter.
Evening grosbeaks, the more regal of these birds in their yellow, black and white attire, used to visit our area with some regularity back in the ’60s and ’70s. But as the spruce budworm outbreak in our northern forests subsided (which the grosbeaks ate, and fed to their young), their breeding populations withdrew from northern New England and Eastern Canada and retreated farther west.
They have inched their way east again, but it is their winter diet of pine seeds, and the lack thereof in Canada this year, that is driving them back to our area in search of food. Evening grosbeaks will also look for maple and ash trees still holding seeds. They often travel in flocks, and can be quite noisy.
At feeders, these birds enjoy striped and black oil sunflower seed – and lots of it! So keep those platform, tray and hopper feeders well stocked with black oil and striped sunflower seeds. Look for these birds at any of your feeders that accommodate a cardinal.
Their cousins, the pine grosbeak, have pinkish red coloring on the head, chest and rump. The females are a duller russet-yellow color. They have much smaller bills and are most often seen eating berries and crab apples. Individuals wandering southward will look for European mountain-ash berries and small ornamental crabapples, even in urban areas. But they, too, might visit a feeder where they prefer black oil sunflower seeds.
Other visitors to your sunflower feeder may include the crossbills. There are two species, the red crossbill, which is brick red in color and has dark wings and tail and the white-winged crossbill which is more pinkish rose color with white wing bars on a dark wing. The females of both species are dull yellow-orange.
Both of these species have crossed bills, that is, the upper mandible crosses over the lower mandible. This adaptation enables these birds to pry open pine cones more easily to extract the seeds. Most crossbills in the east gravitate towards spruce trees and ornamental conifers. If they visit your sunflower feeder, it will give you the opportunity to watch these unique birds up close.
We have already had purple finches visiting our feeders in Essex. Although they are regular visitors and even residents in our area, more are moving in from the north this season. Away from feeders, this species is known to feed on lilac, ash, and other deciduous seeds during the winter.
They may be confused with house finches that are red on their heads, chest and rump. Male purple finches look like they have been dipped in raspberry. The female and young male purple finches are brown with bold stripes on their head, unlike the fine streaking of the female house finches. These birds eat fruit in season, but they are also seed eaters and they enjoy black-oil sunflower seed at your tube feeder.
Your goldfinches have all turned to their dull olive-green winter plumage and will continue to spend the winter at your sunflower and thistle feeders. Pine siskins may be joining the goldfinches at your thistle and hulled sunflower feeders this winter. These birds are the same size as goldfinches, but are brown striped all over, and often have some yellow in the wings and tail.
Also mixed in with your goldfinches could be redpolls, another winter visitor from the north. The common redpoll is goldfinch size or a bit smaller, very light in color, with black around the bill and a distinct red patch on the forehead. In the field, redpolls, like goldfinch and siskins, are often seen in flocks feeding on weeds or, more often on the seeds of white and yellow birch, or on aspens. But they often flock to thistle and hulled sunflower, or finch mixes in tube feeders as well.
So enjoy the chickadees, nuthatches, titmice, cardinals and woodpeckers that are regular visitors to your feeders. But be sure to look closely at all your visitors this winter. New winter finches may grace your feeders this season!
Steve Grinley is the owner of Bird Watcher’s Supply and Gift in the Port Plaza, Newburyport. Email him at Birdwsg@comcast.net. On the web: www.birdwatcherssupplyandgifts.com.