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GENERAL FORECAST: This is not an
irruption (flight) year for winter finches, but there will be some
southward movement of most species into their normal winter ranges.
Ontario’s cone crops (except white pine) and deciduous seed/berry
crops are generally above average to excellent. Very good to bumper
spruce cone crops extend across Canada’s boreal forest from Yukon
(bumper) east to Atlantic Canada, with rare exceptions. Cone crops
are good to excellent (poor on white pine) in central Ontario and
Laurentian Mountains in southern Quebec with heavy crops extending
east through the Adirondack Mountains of New York and northern New
England States. Birch, alder and mountain-ash berry crops are good
to excellent across the boreal forest. Most reporters said that
finches were thinly dispersed in their areas with few concentrations
noted, except for southern Yukon which had abundant Pine Siskins
this past summer. Finches this winter should be widespread given the
almost continent-wide extent of the seed crops. Limited movements
southward to traditional wintering areas such as Algonquin Park are
expected. See individual species forecasts below for details on each
species. Three irruptive non-finch passerines whose movements are
linked to finches are also discussed. Please note that the forecast
applies mainly to Ontario and the Northeast.
FINCH TREES: The key trees
affecting finch movements in the Northeast are spruces, pines,
hemlock, birches and mountain-ashes. Other trees normally play minor
roles unless their crops are bumper. This year many tree species
have spotty or patchy crops with some trees being heavy with cones
or fruit while nearby trees of the same species have few or no cones
or seeds. A similar patchy distribution is evident on a larger
scale, with stands heavy with cones or seeds versus stands in the
next township or county that have scanty crops.
INDIVIDUAL FINCH FORECASTS
PINE GROSBEAK: Most Pine Grosbeaks
will remain in the north this winter because mountain‐ash berry
crops are very good to bumper across the boreal forest from Alaska
to the island of Newfoundland. European mountain-ash, crabapple and
buckthorn have heavy berry crops in southern Ontario and elsewhere
so if grosbeaks wander south they will have plenty of food. They
prefer sunflower seeds at feeders, often feeding on spilled seeds on
the ground.
PURPLE FINCH:
In most years Purple Finches migrate south of Ontario in the
fall, but this winter some should remain in the north where tree
seed crops are abundant. They will likely visit sunflower seed
feeders and be attracted to heavy berry crops on mountain-ashes,
eating the seeds not the flesh. Similar to the Evening Grosbeak
decline,
Purple Finch numbers dropped significantly after 1980
as major spruce budworm outbreaks ended.
RED CROSSBILL: Small numbers are
being reported in Algonquin Park and northern Ontario usually in
pine stands. Red Pine cone crops are fair to good in many areas, but
White Pine crops are poor with a few exceptions such as around
Temagami just south of the boreal zone. Expect to see a scattering
of Red Crossbills where pine, spruce and ornamental conifers have
good crops. Red Crossbills comprise at least 10 “types” in North
America. Each type probably represents a separate or recently
evolving species. The types are usually impossible to identify
without recordings of their flight calls. Matt Young (may6 at
cornell.edu) of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology will identify types
for you from recordings and this will help his research. Most Type 3
crossbills from last winter’s irruption have apparently returned to
their core range in the Pacific Northwest. Matt says it is important
to monitor the distribution of types in more “normal years” such as
this winter. This crossbill rarely goes to feeders.
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL: Spruce cone
crops are generally good to excellent from the Yukon east across the
boreal forest to the island of Newfoundland. Large crops extend
south into the northern states. White-winged Crossbills should be
widely dispersed this winter given the enormity of the cone crops.
Expect to see this crossbill in Ontario’s Algonquin Park, New York’s
Adirondack Mountains and in the northern New England States. This
crossbill usually feeds on native conifers with small soft cones
such as white, red and black spruces and hemlock. It normally avoids
the larger harder cones of pines. This crossbill rarely goes to
feeders.
COMMON REDPOLL: Most redpolls
should stay in the north this winter because birch, alder and
conifer seed crops are generally good across the boreal forest. Some
redpolls should get south to usual southern parts of their winter
range such as the Atlantic Provinces and Ontario’s Algonquin Park
(Latitude 45.5), where
redpolls
have been recorded on 33 of 39 Algonquin Christmas Bird Counts. The
rare “Greater” Common Redpoll (subspecies rostrata) from
Baffin Island and Greenland is not expected in the south this
winter. For reference photos of “Greater” Common Redpolls see link
#4 below.
HOARY REDPOLL:
The rare
Hoary Redpoll is usually found in flocks of Common Redpolls. It is
not expected in the south this winter because this is not an
irruption year for redpolls. The “Southern” Hoary Redpoll (exilipes)
is the usual subspecies seen. “Hornemann’s” Hoary Redpoll (hornemanni)
is a great rarity south of the tundra even during irruption years.
PINE SISKIN: Siskins will winter
across the north because conifer crops (except white pine) are
excellent. They should be attracted to heavy cone crops in southern
Quebec’s Laurentian Mountains, New York’s Adirondacks and northern
New England. Watch for siskins on spruce and hemlock. They prefer
nyger seeds at feeders.
EVENING GROSBEAK: This big
“eye-catching” golden grosbeak should visit sunflower seed feeders
again this winter in Ontario and the Northeast. Numbers are
increasing due to expanding spruce budworm outbreaks in northern
forests. However, spraying to control budworms, if not already
occurring in some provinces, will limit an increase in grosbeaks.
Breeding success is higher in areas with budworm outbreaks because
the abundant larvae are eaten by adults and fed to young. Evening
Grosbeak populations peaked during the 1940s to 1980s when massive
budworm outbreaks stretched across Canada. The last Algonquin
Christmas Bird Count with very high numbers was the winter of
1984/85 when 1474 Evening Grosbeaks were found on the count (Birds
of Algonquin, Tozer 2012).
THREE IRRUPTIVE PASSERINES
Movements of the following three passerines are often linked to the
boreal finches.
BLUE JAY: Blue Jays move south in
varying numbers every fall beginning in mid-September. This year
expect a small to moderate flight along the north shorelines of
Lakes Ontario and Erie because the acorn, beechnut, hazelnut and
many soft mast crops are good to excellent across central Ontario
and elsewhere. Interestingly, I found a Blue Jay feather stuck on a
hazelnut north of Toronto on 11 August 2013.
Good numbers of Blue Jays should visit
feeders this winter in Ontario because many northern birds will not
migrate south this fall.
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH: No movement
of Red-breasted Nuthatches this year reliably predicts that spruce
cone crops are heavy in the boreal forest. This indicates a
non-irruption year for finches, especially Pine Siskins and
White-winged Crossbills which similarly specialize on conifer seeds,
especially white spruce seeds. Some more southerly nuthatch
populations may be permanent residents. We have Red-breasted
Nuthatches year-round at our suet, sunflower and peanut feeders in
Toronto and they annually bring their young to the feeders.
BOHEMIAN WAXWING: Most Bohemians
will remain in the boreal forest this winter because mountain‐ash
berry crops are very good to bumper from Alaska to Newfoundland and
Labrador. When feeding on mountain-ash berries, Bohemians and Pine
Grosbeaks often occur together. The superficial resemblance of
Bohemian Waxwings to female Pine Grosbeaks is striking and may be
functional. If some Bohemians move south they will be attracted to
abundant berries on European mountain‐ash, small ornamental
crabapples and buckthorn. Some are likely to occur in traditional
areas such as Ottawa and Peterborough.
WHERE TO SEE FINCHES: Ontario’s
Algonquin Park is a winter adventure about 3.5 hour drive north of
Toronto. Cone crops are much better in the park this year than last
winter so a good scattering of finches should be seen. Feeders at
the Visitor Centre (km 43) should have Evening Grosbeaks, siskins
and perhaps redpolls and Pine Grosbeak. The Visitor Centre and
restaurant are open weekends in winter. Arrangements can be made to
view feeders on weekdays by calling 613‐637‐2828. The nearby Spruce
Bog Trail at km 42.5 and Opeongo Road (side road) are the best spots
for finches, Gray Jay, Boreal Chickadee, Spruce Grouse and
Black‐backed Woodpecker. At the bookstore be sure to get the “Birds
of Algonquin Park” (2012) by retired park naturalist Ron Tozer. This
is one of the finest regional bird books ever published. 474 pages.
$49.95 CDN. Proceeds go to The Friends of Algonquin Park. If you
cannot get to Algonquin, a trip to Quebec’s southern Laurentians
north of Montreal or to New York’s Adirondacks should produce a good
number of finches.
#1.
Finch Facts, Seed Crops and Irruptions |
