Winter Finches are Coming Your Way in 2015! Who to Look For At your Feeders!

This could be a good year to see some of the irruptive winter finches at your feeders, according to the annual Winter Finch Forecast report of Ron Pittaway of the Ontario Field Ornithologists. Finch species such as Pine Siskins and Common Redpolls and others leave their northern areas in the Boreal Forest in winter when there are low seed and cone crops. So who to look for at your feeders?

Pine Siskins

According to the report Pine Siskins will move east and west this fall searching for areas with excellent spruce cone crops. While there is a good spruce cone crop around James Bay and east across north central Quebec East of Ontario cone crops are generally poor in the Atlantic Provinces, New York state New Hampshire and other northern New England states. Pine Siskins like bird feeders filled with sunflower or thistle (Nyjer) seed.

Common Redpoll

Expect a moderate to good flight of Common Redpolls to leave their northern range, because birch seed crops are variably poor to average in the boreal forest. Redpolls eat sunflower and thistle (Nyjer) at bird feeders and can descend in numbers so put out multiple feeders.

Many Purple Finches stayed north last year because of good seed crops there but this year expect many to migrate south of Ontario because of poor coniferous and deciduous seed crops in central and northeastern Ontario.

Pine Grosbeak, female

Who will not make much of an appearance? Pine Grosbeaks will not appear in any numbers since mountain-ash berry crops are excellent in north-central Quebec and northwestern Ontario and extending across the boreal forest to Alaska. Expect not to see many Red and White-winged Crossbills. They will stay north because spruce cone crops are heavy from James Bay across north Quebec into the Gaspe Peninsula. All three species and rare at bird feeders.

Here's a basic guide to some of the winter finches and how to attract them to your bird feeders.

Purple Finch, males are red, female has a white eyebrow, American Goldfinch, winter, top.

Purple Finch — This is a large-headed, broad-necked, short-tailed finch that is a fairly common winter visitor to the eastern half of the US and along the West Coast. The male is strongly reddish on the head and body while the female is streaked white and brown and has a thick white eyebrow. One of the Purple Finch’s common calls is a distinctive sharp flat “pik.”

Common Redpolls

Common Redpoll — The Common Redpoll nests very far north and winters mostly in s. CAN; but in certain years may show up at feeders in northern states. It is a small, deep-bellied bird with a small head and very short stubby conical bill. It has a red patch on its forehead and a black patch on its chin; the male’s breast is suffused with red while the female’s is streaked brown over white. You may have just a few at your feeder or as many as 50–100! A common call is an ascending scratchy “jeeyeet.”

Pine Siskin

Pine Siskin — The Pine Siskin is a slim finch with a small head and fine-pointed bill. At first you might overlook this rather drab streaked brown bird until it opens its wings and reveals a bright yellow streak. It has a distinctive ascending buzzy call that sounds like steam from a boiling tea kettle — “zzzeeet.” Siskins can be in flocks from a few birds to a hundred or more and they can fill the room at your feeders and even eat on the ground beneath, cleaning up fallen seed bits.

American Goldfinches, winter plumage, Pine Siskin, far right.

American Goldfinch — These generally yellow finches live year-round in the northern half of US and migrate down into the southern states in winter. They are unmistakable in summer with their bright yellow body, dark wings, white wingbars, and orange bill. In winter, they are more drab with grayish to brownish body, dark bill, and variable amounts of pale yellow on the chin. Because of their dull winter plumage, some people mistakenly think that they do not have any Goldfinches at their winter feeder. A typical call in flight sounds like “potato chip, potato chip.” 

Evening Grosbeak, male

Evening Grosbeak — Aptly named, this large finch has a huge deep-based conical bill, well-suited to cracking open the large seeds it likes, such as black oil sunflower and even striped sunflower which has a tougher shell. This bill is pale greenish in spring and summer and paler in winter. Both sexes have white patches on their black wings, seen in flight. The male’s body is a deep yellow and he has a dark head with bright yellow eyebrow; the female has a gray head and back separated by a dull yellowish collar. The calls of Evening Grosbeaks have been likened to the sound of old fashioned sleigh bells.

Here's how to attract finches to your bird feeders in winter.

1. The favorite seeds of finches are black oil sunflower or hulled sunflower (which is sunflower minus the shell), thistle (Nyjer) seed, and finch mixes which contain small seeds like thistle (Nyjer) and millet. 

2. Offer black oil sunflower in sunflower feeders such as Stokes Select sunflower tube feeders, Stokes Select Large, Medium and Small Hopper feeders, Stokes Select 3 in 1 Platform and Red Platform feeders and Stokes Select Sunflower Screen, Mini Seed Screen and Giant Combo feeders. Evening Grosbeaks will eat striped sunflower which is a larger seed with a tougher shell.

3. Offer thistle (also called Nyjer which is an imported seed and not from our wildflower) and finch mixes (which contain tiny seeds), in finch tube feeders. Finch tubes have very small holes, which contain and disperse the finch seeds without having the seeds spill out. Do not offer finch seeds in regular sunflower feeders which have large holes, because the finch seeds will spill out! Put finch seeds in feeders such as, Stokes Select Jumbo Finch Feeder, Stokes Select Thistle Tube feeder, Finch Tube feeders, and Finch Screen feeder.

4. Finches are flock oriented birds so they will be more attracted to your yard if you provide space for lots of birds to feed. Put up multiple feeders mounted on Stokes Select Bird Feeder Poles.

5. Finches like to drink water. Provide clean water in bird baths, You can add bird bath heaters in winter although some feel it is better not to offer water in heated bird baths in the most severe winter weather.