On Tuesday another snowstorm blew in, carrying with it a flurry of finches. I admit that my enthusiasm was a bit less for the snow, since shoveling the deck has become a much more tedious task, but the arrival of the Common Redpolls at the birdfeeders was a delight to see. The action was fast and constant and we walked from window to window trying to count the different species.
The mix included Black-capped Chickadees, Blue Jays, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Dark-eyed Juncos, Pine Siskins, and now the Common Redpolls, the last two being iconic irruptive species. What this means is that every couple years or so, siskins and redpolls move south in large numbers from their normal winter range. Scientists believe the reason for this migration is a shortage of cones (and their seeds) from spruce and pines, as well as the catkins (dangling seed clusters) of birch and alder.
These winter finches – come south for the winter months. You can see they are the same size; the Redpoll with a red cap, and the Pine Siskin with brown streaked feathers.
Both the Redpolls and Siskins are small birds – about the size of a Chickadee but somewhat more slender looking. The Siskins are mostly streaked brown with yellow flight feathers on their pointed wings and under their notched tail feathers. In the winter they travel in large flocks and their incessant, but pleasant twittering is heard whether they are perched or in flight. Our only chance to see the Siskins is in the winter months because they nest in the Canadian forests.
The Redpolls have streaked brown and white bodies and also sport a jaunty red cap and any bright color, no matter how small is greatly appreciated in the winter months. Black feathers surround their beak. The males add even more color with a blush of reddish pink on their breasts and sides. On that snowy Tuesday, with the flat light we strained to see those field marks as the birds sat in the branches of the trees, but once they came to the birdfeeders, even among the snowflakes, we could see the telltale rouge. Redpolls are known to travel in flocks numbering in the hundreds. Our visitors were a much smaller group, but just as welcome.
Both Redpolls and Siskins are finches as I’ve already noted, and typically these groups of birds have relatively heavy
These Redpolls are on a thistle feeder – a fabric ‘sock’ with a fine mesh.
beaks in order to crack the shells of seeds they eat. Pine siskins have a slightly thinner, more pointed beak, which makes nyjer (thistle seed)s more to their liking, but they seem to relish sunflower seeds as much as the other finches. The Redpolls will also visit the thistle feeder. Lacking feeders, both species will
A different type of thistle feeder – this one made of wire. The important thing is that the mesh be small enough to contain the tiny seeds.
forage on scrubby thickets or weedy fields which are plentiful all over the country.
When the snowstorm abated, the flocks dispersed too, although we are still seeing a lot of siskins and some redpolls at the feeders. Mike finally realized we could be getting even better looks at these birds if we put seeds on the deck railing Now we can look out the windows and just six feet away busy birds are pecking for treats in the snow. These finches may not be as flashy and exciting as the warblers when they come through in the springtime, but they are providing us with hours of entertainment and pleasure.
By Kate Crowley
