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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Feeder forecast

Fewer cones likely to mean fewer northern finches this winter

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 10/23/15

ith the leaves now mostly on the ground, many of us are starting to think about what the winter may hold this year. And for those of us who feed birds, the big question always turns to northern finch …

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Feeder forecast

Fewer cones likely to mean fewer northern finches this winter

Posted

ith the leaves now mostly on the ground, many of us are starting to think about what the winter may hold this year. And for those of us who feed birds, the big question always turns to northern finch numbers, since these are the birds that provide so much of the action at winter feeders in the North Country.

Fortunately, the annual finch forecast is out. And unfortunately, it looks like a pretty mixed bag for our area. The forecast is put out each fall by an Ontario resident named Ron Pittaway and he bases it on cone crops across Canada. Since most of our northern finches are highly dependent on conifer seeds as their primary food source, the relative abundance of spruce, pine, and fir cones from year-to-year has proven to be a good predictor of finch movements in the boreal forests of North America. While we often think of birds as simply migrating north-to-south in winter (and that’s true of many species), northern finches follow the food resource as it shifts across the boreal forest landscape from year to year.

Last year’s forecast, for example, made note of the bumper spruce cone crop northwest of Lake Superior (that’s us) and, as a result, we enjoyed lots of spruce cone specialists, like siskins and crossbills, in the area last winter. As might be expected, last year’s bumper crop was followed by a poor crop this year and that means siskins, purple finches, and crossbills are likely to head elsewhere this winter. I noticed that the purple finches cleared out from our feeders by early September this year, which is earlier than usual. I don’t expect to see them again until spring.

In many parts of Minnesota and elsewhere in the Upper Midwest, a poor food year in the boreal forest can translate into an active year at bird feeders, since under such conditions we often see irruptions of northern finches and related species, like red-breasted nuthatches, to the south of their normal range. Up here, however, at the southern edge of the boreal forest, we’re within their normal range, so irruption years can actually send large numbers of winter finches south of us.

Even so, there’s reason to believe that at least some of our most popular finches will be showing up at our feeders this winter. Pine grosbeaks are almost always found here in at least modest numbers and a lackluster year for mountain ash berries (a favorite food for pine grosbeaks) in most of the North should send at least a few of them our way. The pine grosbeaks and redpolls are the only northern finches that typically summer to our north, so the more of these birds that head south, the better it is for us. That’s good, because for me a winter without a decent flock of pine grosbeaks to greet each morning would be depressing, indeed.

One other bright spot appears to be at least a decent crop of balsam fir cones this year, something we haven’t seen in a while. Lots of northern finches, as well as other seed eaters, will take advantage of fir seeds. Unlike with most other conifers, the balsam fir cone breaks apart as fall turns to winter. That releases lots of seeds that are relatively easy for a wide variety of seed eaters to consume, so a decent crop can hold quite a few species of birds in our area, at least into part of the winter.

If you’re hoping to entice some of these colorful northern finches to your window, you’ll want to pick up some black oil sunflower seeds for your feeders. Don’t bother with the cheaper “wild bird mixes” since they’re mostly comprised of millet, which our local birds don’t eat. I always feed a lot of cracked corn this time of year as well, mostly to keep the dozens of blue jays that descend on our feeders each morning from carting away more expensive sunflower seeds. The jays are in their fall hoarding mode right now, but they’ll calm down once the snow comes. While you’re at it, consider a separate suet feeder, which will keep your neighborhood woodpeckers happy, that is, unless the gray jays get there first.

So settle in… regardless of what comes, it should be an interesting season for watching birds at the feeder.