GENERAL FORECAST: Tree seed crops in northern Ontario this year vary from
poor to excellent, depending on species and location, making predictions
more difficult than in past years. Seed crops are better east of Lake
Superior to the Quebec border than west of Superior to the Manitoba border.
Many finches are moving now or will move later, but some should remain in
the north this winter where tree seed crops are good to excellent. In
central Ontario, such as Algonquin Park, crops are average so some finches
will winter in Algonquin, but numbers are not expected to be high. Expect
more finches at feeders this winter than last winter in southern Ontario.
Also, as seed supplies diminish over the winter in the north, more finches
may drift south in February, increasing numbers at feeders. The two best
seeds for finches at feeders are nyger (previously niger) and black oil
sunflower seeds. See individual forecasts below for eight finch species,
plus forecasts for three irruptive passerines associated with finch movements.
TREE SEED CROPS: (1) Conifers: White Spruce has an excellent cone crop
north of Lake Huron in the Lake Nipissing region, but poor to fair around
Timmins. White Spruce has a poor to fair crop north of Lake Superior. Black
Spruce has a good to bumper crop south of Timmins, but a poor to fair crop
north of Timmins. Both spruces have poor to good crops in northwestern
Ontario. Balsam Fir had an excellent cone crop north of Lake Huron and a
good crop in Algonquin Park. White Pine has good to excellent crops from
Lake Superior east to Algonquin Park. White Pine has a poor crop in Muskoka
and Parry Sound District. Red Pine has fair to good crops in many areas.
Eastern Hemlock has an average crop on the Canadian Shield between Lake
Ontario and the Ottawa River. White Cedar has average crops in many areas.
Tamarack or Eastern Larch has a poor to fair crop. (2) Hardwoods/Deciduous:
White Birch has a fair to good supply of seed catkins in central and
northeastern Ontario. I received no information on birch crops from west of
Lake Superior. Red Oak produced a fair to good crop of acorns in central
Ontario, compared to last year's complete failure. American Beech had a
good crop of beechnuts in central Ontario including a report from the
Haliburton Highlands of "Black Bear dung being full of beechnut husks."
American and Showy Mountain-ashes have good to bumper berry crops across
much of the north including a report from Lake Nipigon of bear dung
evidence. European Mountain-ash (rowan) in the settled areas of southern
Ontario also has a large berry crop.
PINE GROSBEAK: Mountain-ash berries are abundant across much of northern
Ontario. The big berry crop should keep most Pine Grosbeaks in the north
this winter. A few Pines are expected along Highway 60 in Algonquin Park,
but few if any should get into the settled parts of southern Ontario.
PURPLE FINCH: Good numbers winter in central and northern Ontario only in
years of bumper seed crops on several tree species. Most Purple Finches
will migrate out of Ontario this fall because seed crops are not bumper in
northern Ontario. However, a few should winter in southern Ontario. Watch
for them at bird feeders.
RED CROSSBILL: There are at least eight types of Red Crossbills in North
America that may be separate species. They differ in calls, size, bill size
and cone preferences. Ontario has at least three types of Red Crossbill.
Two are adapted to pines and one to hemlock. The uncommon resident "white
pine crossbill" prefers White Pine cones, which has a big crop in
northeastern Algonquin Park and excellent crops north and west of the
Ottawa River and Lake Nipissing. The visiting "red pine crossbill" prefers
Red Pine cones, which has a good crop this year. Eastern Hemlock has
average cone crops in most areas so the small-billed "hemlock crossbill"
(sitkensis) will be uncommon or absent this winter. Look and listen for
them in large stands of hemlock such as along Highway 60 in Algonquin Park
and the adjacent Haliburton Highlands. Red Crossbills in Ontario rarely
feed on spruce.
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL: Like a pendulum, White-winged Crossbills move back
and forth across the coniferous forests from Alaska to Newfoundland. This
crossbill is keyed to spruce. It also feeds on Balsam Fir, Tamarack and
sometimes Eastern Hemlock, but rarely on pines unless stressed for food.
There are good to excellent cone crops on spruce and fir in parts of
northeastern Ontario and elsewhere, but White-winged Crossbills are
currently scarce in northern Ontario and Algonquin Park. Where are they?
Perhaps they went to Newfoundland where White-winged Crossbills recently
fledged thousands of young because of the bumper cone crops on spruce and
fir. They may stay in Newfoundland to nest again (Bruce Mactavish, pers.
comm.). When they leave Newfoundland, perhaps this winter, watch for them
as they seek big crops of spruce.
COMMON and HOARY REDPOLLS: Southward movements of Common Redpolls are
linked to the abundance of birch seeds in the boreal forest. Since birch
crops are fair to good in northeastern and central Ontario, I expect many
redpolls will remain in the north, but small numbers should reach southern
Ontario because the birch crop is not big enough to hold all redpolls in
the north. Watch for Hoary Redpolls among the Commons. Many first year and
female Hoary Redpolls are tricky to identify, but a frosty adult male Hoary
is unmistakable. In southern Ontario, redpolls frequent ornamental birches,
weedy fields and feeders with nyger seed. It is often reported that
redpolls show a "biennial periodicity" (every second year) in their
irruptions south of the breeding range. However, Erskine and McManus (2003)
suggested that the "irregular abundance but near-annual occurrence" of
redpolls in the Atlantic Provinces is a better explanation than periodicity
(two year cycle) in their irruptions.
PINE SISKIN: Like the White-winged Crossbill, siskins wander the continent
searching for seed crops. Many siskins are now migrating south out of
Ontario, but a few should stay in the north and Algonquin Park because of
locally good seed crops. Small numbers of siskins should also visit feeders
in southern Ontario, where they prefer nyger seed. Siskins are aggressive
at feeders, fighting with one another, goldfinches and redpolls.
EVENING GROSBEAK: Despite an increase in bird feeders this species has
decreased over the past 25 years. The reasons for the decline are not
clear, but appear related to changes in the breeding habitat such as fewer
big forest fires (fewer wild cherries) and fewer outbreaks of spruce
budworm. Small numbers of Evening Grosbeaks should be widespread across
northern Ontario. Expect some in Algonquin Park and at feeders in southern
Ontario. They prefer black oil sunflower seeds.
THREE IRRUPTIVE PASSERINES often associated with finch movements.
BLUE JAYS: A good flight (smaller than last year) of Blue Jays migrated out
of Ontario beginning about mid-September, but many have remained in central
Ontario reflecting the moderate crop of acorns and good crops of beechnuts
and hazel nuts this year. A few Blue Jays always winter far from humans in
remote areas such as Algonquin Park. These isolated Blue Jays are often
associated with a mated pair of Gray Jays on a permanent territory and
partially depend on their food caches. A dependent Blue Jay with a pair of
Gray Jays in winter was called a "satellite Blue Jay" by the late Russ
Rutter, who did early studies of Gray Jays in Algonquin Park.
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH: There has been a good (not big) migration through
southern Ontario this fall. This suggests that an average crop of conifer
seeds has held some for the winter in Algonquin Park and the boreal forest.
BOHEMIAN WAXWING: This species and the Pine Grosbeak will stay mainly in
the boreal forest this winter because of the excellent crop of mountain-ash
berries. A few may get to traditional wintering areas in central Ontario
such as Ottawa and Peterborough where European Mountain-ash also has many
berries. If you see Bohemian Waxwings and Pine Grosbeaks feeding together
in the same tree, note the similarity in size and coloration of female
Pines and Bohemians. Are they mimics?
WHERE TO SEE WINTER FINCHES: A winter trip to Algonquin Park is always
worthwhile. Watch for finches in early morning along Highway 60. You may
see finches on the highway eating road salt or salty sand. Finches have no
fear of cars and hundreds are killed during big finch years. If you see or
hear a flock of finches in flight, "squeak" loudly many times. Flying
finches will often turn around and perch in nearby trees. The Visitor
Centre and restaurant are open on weekends. The Visitor Centre has great
feeders for finches and an observation deck. You also should see Gray Jays.
Sometimes the suet feeder attracts Pine Marten and Fisher. Wolves are
occasionally seen from the observation deck feeding on road-killed Moose
put out by park staff. Arrangements can be made to see the feeders at the
Visitor Centre during the week. For information on finches and wildlife
sightings, call the Visitor Centre at 613-637-2828.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This forecast is based on information from Dennis Barry,
Barb Boysen, Bill Crins, Dave Elder, Nick Escott, Al Foley, Jean Iron,
Barry Kinch, Bob Knudsen, Chris Leale, Bruce Mactavish, John Miles, Fred
Pinto, Don Sutherland, Megan Thompson, Ron Tozer, Linda Tucker, Mike
Turner, Bill Van Schip, and Mike Walsh. I appreciate the comments by Ron
Tozer of Algonquin Park on a draft of this post.
LITERATURE CITED: Erskine, A.J. and R. McManus, Jr. 2003. Supposed
periodicity of redpoll, Carduelis sp., winter visitations in Atlantic
Canada. Canadian Field-Naturalist 117(4):611-620.
I hope that everybody sees boreal finches this winter.
Ron Pittaway
Ontario Field Ornithologists
Minden and Toronto
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]