WINTER FINCH FORECAST 2018 - 2019

 

by Ron Pittaway

 

GENERAL FORECAST: This is an irruption (flight) year for winter finches in the East. Cone and birch seed crops are poor to low in most of Ontario and the Northeast, with a few exceptions such as Newfoundland which has an excellent spruce crop. It will be a quiet winter in the North Woods. Expect flights of winter finches into southern Ontario, southern Quebec, Maritime Provinces, New York and New England States, with some finches going farther south into the United States. Stock your bird feeders because many birds will have a difficult time finding natural foods this winter. This forecast applies primarily to Ontario and adjacent provinces and states. Spruce, birch and mountain-ash crops are much better in Western Canada. For the details on each finch species, see individual forecasts below.

PINE GROSBEAK: This magnificent grosbeak will move south in moderate numbers into southern Ontario and the northern states. The Mountain-ash berry crop in the boreal forest of Ontario and Quebec is below average and conifer seeds are in short supply. The feeders at the Visitor Centre in Algonquin Park should have Pine Grosbeaks this winter. At feeders they prefer black oil sunflower seeds. Also watch for them on European Mountain-ashes and crabapple trees.

PURPLE FINCH: Purple Finches are now moving south out of Ontario. Most Purples will have departed the province by December because seed crops are poor on northern conifers and hardwoods. A few may linger at feeders in southern Ontario where they prefer black oil sunflower seeds.

RED CROSSBILL: Red Crossbills will be scarce this winter. Watch for them in pines. Red Crossbills comprise about 10 "call types" in North America. The western types seen last winter in the East have probably returned to their core ranges in western North America. Most types are impossible to identify without analyzing recordings of their flight calls. Recordings can be made with an iPhone and identified to type. Matt Young (may6 at cornell.edu) of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology will identify types if you email him your recordings or upload them to an eBird checklist. This helps his research. Recordings uploaded to eBird checklists are deposited in the Macaulay Library. See link #4 for Matt’s guide to Red Crossbill call types.

WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL: Most White-winged Crossbills have moved east to Newfoundland and west to Western Canada where spruce cone crops are much larger. Some should wander south this winter into southern Ontario and the northern states because of poor cone crops in the eastern boreal forest. Watch for them on non-native spruces and European Larch.

COMMON REDPOLL: This will be a flight year for redpolls. Birch, alder and conifer seed crops are generally poor to low in most of the Northeast so redpolls will come south into southern Ontario and the northern states. The first arriving redpolls this fall likely will be seen in weedy fields. When redpolls discover nyger seed feeders, feeding frenzies will result. Fidgety redpolls are best studied at feeders. Look for the larger and darker far northern “Greater” Common Redpoll (subspecies rostrata) from Baffin Island (NU) and Greenland. For subspecies ID see link #2 below.

HOARY REDPOLL: This will be the winter to see Hoaries in flocks of Common Redpolls. The “Southern” Hoary Redpoll (subspecies exilipes) breeds south to northern Ontario and is the subspecies usually seen in southern Canada and northern USA. Watch for the far northern “Hornemann’s” Hoary Redpoll (nominate hornemanni) from high arctic Nunavut and Greenland. It is the largest and palest of the redpolls. Hornemann’s was formerly considered a great rarity south of the tundra, but recently it has been documented more frequently in the south with better photos. For subspecies ID see link #2 below.

PINE SISKIN: Siskins are currently moving south because cone crops in the Northeast are generally poor on spruce, fir and hemlock. Many siskins also have probably gone to better spruce crops in Western Canada. Siskins relish nyger seeds in silo feeders. Link #3 below discusses siskin irruptions related to climate variability.

EVENING GROSBEAK: Expect a moderate flight south into southern Ontario and the northern states because both conifer and deciduous seed crops are generally low in the Northeast. The best spot to see this striking grosbeak is the feeders at the Visitor Centre in Algonquin Park. At feeders it prefers black oil sunflower seeds. In April 2016 the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) listed the Evening Grosbeak a species of Special Concern due to strong population declines occurring mainly in central and eastern Canada.

THREE IRRUPTIVE NON-FINCH PASSERINES: Movements of the following three passerines are linked to irruptions of boreal finches.

BLUE JAY: A very large flight of jays is underway along the north shorelines of Lakes Ontario and Erie. The acorn, beechnut, hazelnut crops were generally poor to low in central Ontario and Quebec.

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH: This nuthatch is irrupting south because conifer seed crops are poor to low in most of the eastern boreal forest. Red-breasted Nuthatches also have moved east to Newfoundland where spruce crops are excellent. A report on eBird at Point Pelee National Park on 25 July 2018 was an early indication of a movement.

BOHEMIAN WAXWING: A good flight south into settled areas is expected because native Mountain-ashes in Ontario and Quebec’s boreal forest have a below average berry crop. Flocks will likely wander farther south and east than usual. Watch for them feeding on European Mountain‐ash berries, small ornamental crabapples and Buckthorn berries. Swirling flocks of Bohemian Waxwings resemble starlings and make a continuous buzzy ringing twittering.

WHERE TO SEE FINCHES: Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park is an exciting winter experience. It is about a 3.5 hour drive north of Toronto. Cone crops are poor in the park so crossbills, siskins and Purple Finches will be mostly absent this winter. The feeders at the Visitor Centre (km 43) should attract Common and Hoary Redpolls, Evening and Pine Grosbeaks. The feeders are easily observed from the viewing deck. The Visitor Centre and restaurant are open weekends in winter. On weekdays there are limited services, but snacks and drinks are available. The bookstore has a large selection of natural history books. Be sure to get the Birds of Algonquin Park (2012) by former park naturalist Ron Tozer. It is one of the finest regional bird books. The nearby Spruce Bog Trail at km 42.5 and Opeongo Road at km 44.5 are the best spots for boreal species such as finches, Canada Jay, Boreal Chickadee, Spruce Grouse and Black-backed Woodpecker.

 

FINCH INFORMATION LINKS

 

1. Finch Facts, Seed Crops and Irruptions

http://www.jeaniron.ca/2012/winterfinches.htm

 

2. Subspecies of Common and Hoary Redpolls – ID Tips and Photos

http://www.jeaniron.ca/2015/redpollsRP.htm

 

3. Climatic dipoles drive two principal modes of North American boreal bird irruption

http://bit.ly/1UrmTsI

 

4. Crossbills of North America: Species and Red Crossbill Call Types

https://ebird.org/news/crossbills-of-north-america-species-and-red-crossbill-call-types/

 

5. Interview with Ron Pittaway in OFO News 34(1):1-3, 2016

http://jeaniron.ca/articles/FinchForecasterFe2016.pdf

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: I thank staff of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, and the many birders/naturalists whose tree seed reports allow me to make annual forecasts: Dennis Barry (Durham Region, Haliburton, Gogama ON), Angus Baptiste (Grand lac Victoria QC), Eleanor Beagan (PEI), Joan Collins (Adirondacks NY), John Cordon (Flin Flon MB), Pascal Côté (Observatoire d'oiseaux de Tadoussac QC), Bruce Di Labio (Eastern ON), Charity Dobbs (Ontario Tree Seed Plant), Cameron Eckert (Whitehouse YK), Dave Elder (Atikokan ON), Bruce Falls (Brodie Club, Toronto), Marcel Gahbauer (Eastern ON), Bill Gilmour (Presqu’ile Provincial Park ON), Michel Gosselin (Gatineau QC), David Govatski (NH and VT), Leo Heyens (Kenora ON), Tyler Hoar (James Bay, Rainy River ON and Laurentians QC), Kris Ito (French River ON), Jean Iron (James Bay & Northeastern ON), Bruce Mactavish (Newfoundland), David McCorquodale (Cape Breton Island NS), Clayton D'Orsay (Cape Breton Island NS), Larry Master (Adirondacks NY), Ken McKenna (NS), Stacy McNulty (Adirondacks NY), Brian Morin (Cornwall ON), Andree Morneault (Nipissing District ON), Brian Naylor (Nipissing District, ON), Marty Obbard (Peterborough & Hudson Bay Lowlands ON), Stephen O’Donnell (Parry Sound District ON), Justin Peter (Algonquin Park ON, Gatineau Park QC, Edmonton AB, Vancouver BC), Fred Pinto (Nipissing District ON), Rayfield Pye (Newfoundland),  Brian Ratcliff (Lake Superior & Northern ON), Ron Tozer (Algonquin Park ON), Declan Troy (AK), Mike Turner (Haliburton Highlands ON), Mary Beth Warburton (Adirondacks NY), Angie and Ken Williams (Smooth Rock Falls ON), Matt Young (NY) and Matt also shared his knowledge of Red Crossbills. Michel Gosselin and Jean Iron proofed the forecast, and Jean hosts the forecast on her website.

 

Follow finches this fall and winter on eBird.

 

Ron Pittaway, Ontario Field Ornithologists, Toronto, Ontario, 20 September 2018

 

Common Redpolls feeding on weed seeds.