Winter Finch Irruption

I read Robt Kiernan’s post about most probably no winter finch irruption this season. I follow sev Canadian sites for winter finch irruptions & all agree, not much chance this year. At my feeders, personally, have only seen a lone Evening Grosbeak early on, a handful of Pine Siskins since & no other migratory winter finches.

But, it also got me thinking. It’s been documented that N Amer bird populations have decreased by approx 30% overall since 1970’s. Certainly, in great pine seed crop winters, there’s no need for even an abundance of finches to migrate. But if, for instance, numbers of finches are down by 30%, in a lower pine seed crop year, would there be enough seed for the remaining fewer finch numbers, that there would also be no need to migrate? Perhaps, we won’t see winter finch irruptions as often. Maybe, a grad student thesis project? 

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

a good raptor run

We had a good Raptor Run out in the Roswell area. Our best birds were a Merlin, Cooper’s Hawk, and three Great Horned Owls. We saw 33 Red-tailed Hawks, 25 American Kestrels, but only 3 Northern Harriers over the 78 mile route. We survey through ever growing numbers of hop fields…..we are watching habit and ecosystems vanish before our very eyes. 
Billie Farley and Steve Smith

sun is out and birds are singing….!!

what a glorious morning   =)
Missy and I tallied 46 sp of birds along our little stretch of boise greenbelt, 2.6 miles each way from home
my personal faves are always the songsters
e.g., bewick’s wrens are nearly saturating some sections of our ride, reminding me of one of Jason’s notes about them, either on IBLE or on an ebird list ?
pacific wren was singing as well, and i sometimes think “song begets song” as other species engage with their own joyous music…  
these temperatures feel like spring, eyiyiyi
Larry