Winter Finches – Color in the Grey
By Olivia Bautch
It seems to be well understood that once the holiday hype passes, most of us are left with a winter emptiness. After all, what do January and February bring to look forward to? Failed resolutions? A lonely Valentine’s Day? The air has a chill and fallen leaves have left the trees bare and vulnerable. What once stood as a buzzing field of floral arrays, now seems lifeless and weighed down by the insisting snow.
Yet in this stillness, shooting up from the salt-infused snow, are several nameless bundles – brown bundles to be exact – brown stalks, brown leaves, and brown seed heads. The bundles are seemingly dead.
Then there is movement. One creature. Then another. Then fifteen. They are small striped birds with red on the top of their heads. They have found hope in the bundles.
Winter migration is one migration we need to talk more about. I suppose it might scientifically be an extension of fall migration, although many scientists describe the species involved as migrating during winter, rather than for winter. Winter is when resources dwindle in the boreal forests and depending on the food supply at any given time, a dozen species may make the flight.
Many of us may be familiar with the idea of an irruption. This is when a species moves collectively out of its breeding/summer range in search of a greater food supply. The specifics of these migrations can vary. For example, compare Common Redpolls and Hoary Redpolls who flock with American Goldfinches and Pine Siskins, to Blue Jays and Snowy Owls who migrate individually during winter.
The reasoning behind irruptive migrations can also vary by species. Most often, a “bumper crop” in the prior year can spur a productive breeding year that summer. If by winter resources cannot support all of the new babies, those babies will take a southern road trip to find more food. Usually, these trips are just far enough to reach the supply at the closest exit sign. Once that crop has been devoured, it’s on to the next exit. However, if the summer’s crop was large enough to last into the winter, many species will stay put.
Most of the birds that migrate into the lower 48 at the beginning of the calendar year are simply called finches. This is in part due to Ron Pittaway’s famous Winter Finch Forecast, a project of the Finch Research Network (FiRN). These predictions, based on boreal seed crops and population dynamics, track the movements of birds in the family Fringillidae. These are the true finches – siskins, crossbills, redpolls, and some grosbeaks. Other birds that can fall under a broad “winter finch” label are Red-breasted Nuthatch, Blue Jay, Bohemian Waxwing, and American Tree Sparrow.
Now for the most important part, who will we find this winter? According to recent northerly reports, here are four species to watch.
Red-Breasted Nuthatch – This small and colorful nuthatch species made an early migration south, with Indiana sightings as early as August. While some individuals have found themselves as far south as Panama City Beach, plenty are still being seen in the Indianapolis area. Listen for their double-yank or triple-yank call as they zig-zag down coniferous trees.
Evening Grosbeak – Unlike Rose-breasted Grosbeaks in the cardinal family who stop in during spring, Pine and Evening Grosbeaks are in the finch family. Evening Grosbeaks seem to be the highlight of the last few months, with populations traveling along the upper Midwest and Northeast, as well as in the West. Fortunately for birdwatchers, this voracious species tends to come to us. Groups will clean out sunflower-filled hopper feeders. If you think you have a large American Goldfinch at your feeder, with coloring in all the wrong places, take a second look- you may have an Evening Grosbeak. Pine Grosbeaks were also reported to be under watch this year. However, recent sightings show the red-and-grey birds staying mostly in Canada so far.
Common Redpoll – In December, Common Redpolls made their way into central Illinois. With more individuals recently found along Lake Erie and at the Indiana-Michigan border, it is only a matter of time before these active finches take to our rural roadsides. Drabber females may resemble Pine Siskins with their brown-and-white stripes. Males sport a red wash to match the red cap of both sexes. When Common Redpolls arrive, they arrive in numbers. Many times, they are foraging for thistle seed with American Goldfinches and Pine Siskins. Because of this, a good way to look for Common Redpolls is to carefully look along country roads for dormant wildflowers and spot the movement.
Bohemian Waxwing – The official winter finch forecasters suggested a gradual movement of the Cedar Waxwing’s nomadic cousin back in September. Until December, the species had been staying in its traditional winter range, no further south than Chicago. However, in the last few weeks, birds have been trickling down in greater numbers. This may be a species to keep an eye on. In the coming month, it may be worth visiting cemeteries and parks with fruiting trees to find them. Bohemian Waxwings overall tend to have more of a reddish tone, with rusty undertail coverts that resemble a Gray Catbird. Cedar Waxwings take on a yellow cast, with white undertail coverts. Don’t forget, while these birds are flying south now, they still have to fly back to Canada before the spring. Even if you missed a species in December, you have a chance to catch them on their way up.
When excitement seems to wane after the climax of the holidays, winter finches beckon us to venture outside our heated hideaways. They are the ones who not only make the best of what dormant life was left from seasons past, but find refuge and plenty there.
Each flight a bird makes to reach its next food source uses precious energy and fat stores. You can provide an additional food supply for winter migrants in your area by putting out seeds for them. Pine Siskins, Common Redpolls, and other finches will eat thistle seeds or nyjer seeds. Other species, such as Evening Grosbeaks, nuthatches, and sparrows, are attracted to feeders filled with black-oil sunflower seeds. If you have fruiting plants in your yard, you may attract Pine Grosbeaks and Bohemian Waxwings.
Winter finches are tiny bursts of color in the melting, dirty, cloudy, grey of winter. It’s in the way you look at nature. We see a brown bundle. A hungry, tired flock of Common Redpolls see hope. And in the eyes of weary birders, those Common Redpolls are hope. Which finches can you find this winter?
Photo of Evening Grosbeaks courtesy of Aidan Rominger