We could be in for a lot of birds at our bird feeders this winter. If you maintain a few, you might want to make a point to keep them well stocked this winter. If you don’t have a few feeders, now might be a good time to buy some. And of course, Christmas is not that far away. Consider giving bird feeders as gifts.
So why the optimism for winter birds and more bird feeders? It is because Ron Pittaway’s Winter Finch Forecast is out, and he says we are perhaps in for an invasion of sorts. The seed crops of conifers and several species of deciduous trees that are important winter foods for finches and other birds was low in eastern Canada this past summer. So we could see an irruption of these occasional winter visitors. It should be noted that the forecast is mainly for Ontario and the adjacent United States, and the seed crops in western Canada were better this year. However, Ontario is not that far east of us.
Ron Pittaway is an ornithologist from Ontario, who assesses the fruit and seed crops of a variety of plants each year. That enables him to make predictions as to the movements of several finches and other birds as they search for food during the winter months. If there is a shortage of food up north, the birds are expected to move southward in search of food. This group of birds includes several species that are rather irregular and episodic visitors to our bird feeders such as purple finches, redpolls, pine siskins, and pine and evening grosbeaks. He also includes blue jays, red-breasted nuthatches, and bohemian waxwings in his predictions.
The pine siskins are already on the move in search of food. So are the purple finches. We can also expect to see more red-breasted nuthatches., which are already showing up at our sunflower and suet feeders.
We may be in for a “moderate” movement of evening grosbeaks this year. They have not been frequent winter visitors to our feeders in a few years. Maybe this will be the year!
We may also see more red and white crossbills in our area this winter. Keep a lookout for them in the conifers.
Both the hoary and common redpolls are expected to be moving southward as well. We think of nyjer as goldfinch food. But common redpolls are also fond of nyjer. So if you want to attract the redpolls, keep a feeder stocked with nyjer.
It is always fun to watch the birds at the feeders. And this winter could provide more fun than most winters.
~Chuck Lura
