More on the Evening Grosbeak

I am linking up my Evening Grosbeak with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

First, I want to say so far my family and I made it safely thru the storm, our electric is on as I type this and I am happy to have a cup of coffee first thing this morning. The wind and rain was scary last night so I went to bed early. I hope all my blogger friends have also made it thru the storm safely. Maryland has had heavy rains and winds on the east side of the state and blizzardlike conditions and snow on the west side of the state. It was a very strange storm.

I was a happy birder to be one of the few people last weekend to have a "rare" visitor to my yard. The Evening Grosbeak is another species of bird like the Pine Siskins for Maryland birders to see in an irruptive year. Irruption is like a migration of birds moving south due to the availability of seeds and their food source.

The first day I noticed the Evening Grosbeaks there were three of them, the second day I only saw one. I was told that I was seeing one female and two immatures.

The Evening Grosbeak is a larger size finch around 8 inches. Their breeding habitat is coniferous and mixed forest across Canada and the western mountain area of the United States. The adult has a short black tail, black wings and a large pale bill. The adult male has a bright yellow forehead and body. You can see the adult male here male Evening_Grosbeak . The female is mainly olive-brown and greyer on the underparts with white patches on the wings.

The Evening Grosbeak mainly eats seed, berries and insects. On the photo above you can see a faint yellow collar. The Grosbeaks were in  my yard and visiting my sunflower seed feeders for at least a day and a half before they moved on. I wished they would have stayed longer, maybe I will see another group arrive again this winter. I will be on the lookout for any new bird arriving due to the irruption.



To see more beautiful and wonderful photos please visit: Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes.
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday and thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes.

Wishes do come true

I am linking up with  Green Day and Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-B-Birdin.

As a birder I had an exciting last couple of days. I posted in my last post about the irruptive birds moving thru the area and everyone should be on the look out for new birds in their yard. 

The excitement started on Thursday, I came home from work and was reading some blogs. I was commenting on Gary's Me, Boomer and the Vermilon river. I loved Gary's Evening Grosbeaks and I commented that I would love to see one in my backyard. It was no more than a minute goes by and I turned my head to look out my window and what do I see three Evening Grosbeaks at my feeders. YAHOO!!

My ever popular feeder looks like a favorite with the Evening Grosbeaks. I have been told that out of the three Grosbeaks I had one female and two immature.  Now for a pretty male to show,  would just make my weekend.

The Evening Grosbeak is a "RARE" sighting in Maryland and I was one of the few birders reporting that they were seen. I have a feeling more sightings will be reported this weekend. I reported my sighting on EBIRD and on my MD listserve, I started getting emails from birders asking if they could stop by to see my Evening Grosbeaks. I am happy to share, I just hope they stick around for awhile or maybe even more will show up.

 

The view from my window and two of the three Evening Grosbeaks.  Sorry, the chair and curtain are a little in the way. I took the shot from my desk chair at the computer.

Now, I am thinking I can wish for any bird to show up in my yard. I am wishing to see some Common Redpolls  and it would be cool to see a Saw-Whet owl in the woods next to my house. A Bohemian Waxwing would be a cool visitor too.

Another surprise in my yard, the clematis started blooming again. It is one of my favorite plants and look so pretty.

I hope you enjoyed my Evening Grosbeaks and clematis.

To see more beautiful photos and cute critters please visit: Green Day  and Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious host Fiona of Green Day, Misty Dawn of Camera Critters and to Anni of I'd Rather-B-birdin.  Thanks for visiting my blog and post. I wish everyone a very safe and happy weekend.

Pine Siskin Irruption

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

I love the Pine Siskins and it seems like lately they are coming in large groups. On this day below I counted 20 Pine Siskins on my feeders and deck railing. The Pine Siskins were missing from my yard last year so this means we are in an irruption year. An irruptive year is where you will see birds that do not normally winter in your area. Some of these birds are the Pine Siskins, Red Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill, Purple Finch, Common Redpoll and the Evening Grosbeak. Another bird that will also shift from its wintering ground is the Red breasted Nuthatch.  I am seeing the Red-Breasted Nuthatches on my feeders and many are in the woods around my house.

The Pine Siskins are brown on their upperparts and pale underparts with heavy streaking. They have short forked tails and a real tell-tale sign is the yellow streak on their wings and tails. You can see the yellow streaks in my photo above. They are similar in color to the house finches.

They say irruptions are due to a lack of food in their normal winter grounds. I am happy to help provide food for these pretty birds and I would love to see an Evening Grosbeak or Common Redpoll at my feeder.

Pine Siskins on 10/20/12

A few years ago during one irruptive year I counted as many as 100 or more Pine Siskins on my deck and feeders. I was joking in a previous post that one Pine Siskin was sent as a scout well a few days later the scouts friends all arrived. I am not seeing 100 but above I at least 20 in the photo. It is hard trying to capture them all in one photo.

 First Pine Siskin arrived 10/15/12




You can look for the irruptive species in your area and I read that there is an Irruptive bird survey on the Cornell Website. They would like to know what irruptive birds you are seeing, when did the irruption start and how long will it last also they would like to know you location. This looks like the start of a fantastic winter for seeing great birds in my yard and around the state of Maryland.


To see more beautiful and wonderful photos please visit: Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes.
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday and thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes.