GENERAL FORECAST
There should be a moderate to good flight of most (not all) winter finch
species out of Ontario's boreal forest this fall and winter. See individual
species' forecasts below. Cone crops and birch seed crops range from poor
to good across northern Ontario. Very few northern areas have excellent
crops. Many crops are patchy or spotty with some trees having good crops
while nearby trees have poor crops. On the Canadian (Precambrian) Shield of
central Ontario including Algonquin Park, seed crops are very poor on most
species. In much of urban and agricultural southern Ontario, seed crops are
generally poor so expect finches at feeders this winter. Below I discuss
nine winter finch species and three other irruptive passerines whose
movements are often linked to winter finches.
NINE WINTER FINCHES
1. Pine Grosbeak: This species is a mountain-ash (rowan berry) specialist
in winter. Mountain-ash crops are generally good to excellent in
northwestern Ontario (north and west of Lake Superior to Manitoba) so Pine
Grosbeaks will do well there this winter. However, the crop is variable to
poor in northeastern Ontario (north and east of Lake Superior to Quebec) so
expect some Pine Grosbeaks in Algonquin Park and farther south this winter.
Two early Pine Grosbeaks were seen October 4th in Algonquin where they do
not breed. If they come into urban and agricultural southern Ontario, watch
for them on European mountain-ash and ornamental crabapples. Pine Grosbeaks
prefer sunflower seeds at bird feeders.
2. Purple Finch: Most Purple Finches should leave Ontario this fall to
winter farther south. They began moving south in early October. Tree seed
crops are poor in southern Ontario so any Purple Finches that stay will be
at bird feeders where they prefer black oil sunflower seed and nyger
(niger) seed. Numbers have declined in Ontario and North America. Breeding
Bird Surveys indicated a 50% decline from 1966 to 1996 in the northeastern
United States and southern Canada. The cause is unknown; it probably is not
linked to the spread of House Finches because Purple Finches declined even
where House Finches were absent.
3. Red Crossbill: There are at least two main forms of Red Crossbill in
Ontario: a small-billed form (sitkensis) that prefers hemlock and a
larger-billed form that prefers pines, mainly white pine. Small-billed Red
Crossbills will be absent or very rare this winter because most hemlocks in
Ontario failed to produce cones this year. Red Crossbills with larger bills
will be widespread in very small numbers this winter in central and
northern Ontario where cone crops on white pine are locally good, but
spotty. A few Red Crossbills were seen in early October in pine forests on
the east side of Algonquin Park. Red Crossbills wandering into southern
Ontario this winter may turn up at feeders because cone crops on native and
ornamental pines, spruces and larches are very poor.
4. White-winged Crossbill: Cone crops on spruce are good in parts of
northern Ontario such as around Timmins in northeastern Ontario where
White-winged Crossbills should be present in small numbers this winter.
However, spruce cone crops are poor around Sault Ste Marie east of Lake
Superior so expect few or no crossbills there. This unevenness of cone
crops is widespread across the north. Very few or no White-winged
Crossbills are expected in Algonquin Park where spruce and hemlock cone
crops are very poor. White-winged Crossbills wandering into southern
Ontario this winter may turn up at feeders because cone crops on both
native and ornamental pines, spruces and larches are very poor.
5. Common Redpoll: When redpolls winter in the boreal forest they prefer
birch (Betula) seed. Since White Birch seed crops are average to good in
many parts of northern Ontario, I expect many redpolls will stay north this
winter. However, some redpolls likely will wander south in mid-winter as
seed supplies diminish. Watch for them at feeders where they feed with
goldfinches on nyger seed. Redpolls and most winter finches wander more
widely than is generally realized. For example, Barry Kinch of the Mountain
Chutes Banding Station near Elk Lake in northern Ontario banded a Common
Redpoll on March 4, 2001 that was found dead a year later on March 24, 2002
in Kimberly, British Columbia, which is a straight line distance of 2611
kilometres west.
6. Hoary Redpoll: Always check flocks of Common Redpolls for Hoarys.
Classic "snowball" adult male Hoarys are easy to identify, but some adult
females and particularly first year females are difficult to identify.
7. Pine Siskin: There are very few conifer seeds to hold siskins in the
boreal forest and Algonquin Park this winter. Siskins are now moving south
through southern Ontario. Most will be elsewhere in North America this
winter. Any siskins remaining in southern Ontario this winter will be at
feeders where they prefer nyger seed.
8. American Goldfinch: In Algonquin Park goldfinches were moving in August
and good numbers were migrating west along the north shoreline of Lake
Ontario in September and early October. This movement is an indicator of
the poor tree seed crops in central Ontario. Many goldfinches will remain
at feeders in southern Ontario.
9. Evening Grosbeak: This has been a mystery species in recent years. Where
are the flocks of "Greedies" that crowded feeders 25 years ago? The decline
is real. Kelling (1999) analyzed Christmas Bird Counts from 1959 to 1998.
Numbers of Evening Grosbeaks were stable or increased until 1980 when
numbers began to decline. The rate of decline increased between 1990 and
1998 with the Northeast and Great Lakes regions having the steepest
declines in winter. Recently, Bolgiano (2004) provided the most plausible
explanation for the decline. He found higher numbers during outbreaks of
spruce budworm and lower numbers after outbreaks ended. Evening Grosbeaks
feed heavily on budworm larvae and the larvae are fed to young. Evening
Grosbeaks began to decline in 1980 after the last major outbreak of spruce
budworm during the 1970s. Evening Grosbeaks coming into southern Ontario
will find a good crop of samaras (keys) on Manitoba Maples and an abundance
sunflower seeds at feeders.
THREE IRRUPTIVE PASSERINES
1. Blue Jay: A big flight started in mid-September and large numbers are
still moving southwest along the shorelines of Lakes Ontario and Erie. This
year's big flight appears to be linked to the generally poor acorn crop on
Red Oak which was spotty. There were lots of acorns in some areas, but they
dropped early and most were of low quality. In addition, hazelnut and
beechnut crops were mainly poor (some good) this year in central Ontario.
Last winter Blue Jays were common in central Ontario including Algonquin
Park, but this winter they will be much less common. Those that remain will
be tied to bird feeders.
2. Red-breasted Nuthatch: The Red-breasted Nuthatch is a conifer seed
specialist when it winters in the boreal forest. It often irrupts south
like the boreal finches. A cone crop failure is indicated when large
numbers migrate south in late August and September. Similarly, when none
move it normally indicates a bumper cone crop in the boreal forest.
However, this year only a small number of Red-breasted Nuthatches moved
through southern Ontario in September and currently they are scarce in
Algonquin Park and the boreal forest of northeastern Ontario. Where are they?
3. Bohemian Waxwing: Like the Pine Grosbeak, this boreal waxwing is a
mountain-ash (rowan berry) specialist in winter. Many are expected to stay
in northwestern Ontario (west of Lake Superior) this winter because there
is a good to excellent mountain-ash berry crop. However, the crop is
variable to poor in northeastern Ontario (east of Lake Superior) so expect
some Bohemians to move farther south. They likely will come into
traditional areas such as Peterborough and Ottawa to feed on European
mountain-ash, buckthorn berries and small crabapples.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
For information on tree seed crops I appreciate the input of the following
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) staff, foresters, biologists,
resource technicians, tree seed nursery staff and birders: Dennis Barry
(Haliburton Highlands), Barb Boysen (OMNR), Glenn Coady (Rainy River/Lake
of the Woods), Ed Czerwinski (OMNR Peterborough/Bancroft), Shirley Davidson
(OMNR Minden), Bruce Di Labio (Eastern Ontario), Carolle Eady (Dryden),
Dave Elder (Atikokan) Nick Escott (Thunder Bay), Charity Hendry (Angus Tree
Seed Nursery), Peter Hynard (OMNR Minden/Peterborough), Jean Iron (Timmins
to Muskoka), Mark Joron (Milsom Forestry Service in Timmins), Barry Kinch
(Timiskaming), Bob Knudsen (OMNR Sault Ste Marie), Scott McPherson (OMNR
South Porcupine), John Miles (Haldimand-Norfolk), Dave Milsom (Ontbirds),
Thomas Noland (OMNR Sault Ste Marie), Fred Pinto (OMNR North Bay), Don
Sutherland (OMNR Peterborough), Ron Tozer (Algonquin Park), Mike Turner
(OMNR Bancroft District), Stan Vasiliauskas (OMNR Timmins and Restoule),
Mike Walsh (OMNR Muskoka/Parry Sound). I am grateful to Ron Tozer for
helpful comments and for information from his book-in-progress, the Birds
of Algonquin Park.
LITERATURE CITED
1. Bolgiano, N.C. 2004. Cause and Effect: Changes in Boreal Bird Irruptions
in Eastern North America Relative to the 1970s Spruce Budworm Infestation.
American Birds 58:26-33.
2. Kelling, S. 1999. Population Trends in Evening Grosbeak. BirdSource
http://www.birdsource.org/Features/Evegro/index.html
Ron Pittaway
Ontario Field Ornithologists
Minden and Toronto ON
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Oct 16 10:29:55 2005
Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Delivered-To: [email protected]
Received: from smarthost1.sentex.ca (smarthost1.sentex.ca [64.7.153.18])
by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 9A4456390F
for <[email protected]>; Sun, 16 Oct 2005 10:29:55 -0400 (EDT)
Received: from granite.sentex.ca (granite-64.sentex.ca [64.7.153.1])
by smarthost1.sentex.ca (8.13.3/8.13.3) with ESMTP id j9GEY6iW067158
for <[email protected]>; Sun, 16 Oct 2005 10:34:06 -0400 (EDT)
(envelope-from [EMAIL PROTECTED])
Received: from terryosb (p41l1llp-d4-dynamic.xDSL-1mm.sentex.ca
[67.43.136.42])
by granite.sentex.ca (8.13.3/8.13.3) with SMTP id j9GEXxHJ071128
for <[email protected]>; Sun, 16 Oct 2005 10:34:01 -0400 (EDT)
(envelope-from [EMAIL PROTECTED])
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
From: "Terry Osborne" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Ontbirds" <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2005 10:33:59 -0400
MIME-Version: 1.0
X-Priority: 3
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2527
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2527
X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.51 on 64.7.153.18
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.1
Subject: [Ontbirds]Nelson Sharp-tailed Sparrows
X-BeenThere: [email protected]
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1
Precedence: list
X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2005 14:29:56 -0000
A trip to the Dundas Marsh yielded no fewer than 6 Nelson Sharp-tailed =
Sparrows late yesterday all feeding within 5 feet of one another. There =
were very likely double or possibly even triple that number but we were =
not able to confirm an exact count.
The six birds we actually counted and photographed were all feeding =
amongst a graveyard of carp bones. Many others were actively flying back =
and forth from and to this area. The six birds were all together at the =
same time, in the same area, very actively feeding.
Terry Osborne
Exit highway 8 West from the 403 in Hamilton, turn west onto 8
(Main Street West) and pass McMaster University. Turn right onto =
Cootes
Drive at the end of the University. Turn right at Olympic Drive and do =
a
quick u-turn and go left back onto Cootes in the opposite direction. =
Park
before the bridge over the creek before you go back up the hill. Cross
Cootes and follow the trail north easterly until you run out of trail.
From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Oct 16 13:48:58 2005
Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Delivered-To: [email protected]
Received: from mail.kent.net (indoors.kent.net [216.8.139.183])
by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 1785A63BE2
for <[email protected]>; Sun, 16 Oct 2005 13:48:58 -0400 (EDT)
Received: from waterthrush (dyn216-8-164-138.ADSL.mnsi.net [216.8.164.138])
by mail.kent.net (8.12.11/8.12.11) with SMTP id j9GHr8Hr005338
for <[email protected]>; Sun, 16 Oct 2005 13:53:10 -0400
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
From: "Blake A. Mann" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2005 13:53:07 -0400
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
format=flowed;
charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Priority: 3
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2527
X-MIMEOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2527
Subject: [Ontbirds]Jaegers at Point Edward
X-BeenThere: [email protected]
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1
Precedence: list
X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2005 17:48:58 -0000
Hi Birders,
I am posting on behalf of others and myself who were at Point Edward
lakewatch this morning.
A brisk NW wind developed this morning providing the potential for a decent
day at the mouth of Lake Huron.
There were not large numbers of birds, but at 10:30, a SHORT-EARED OWL
appeared over the lake opposite Canatara Park. It circled over the lake for
some time before disappearing.
About 11:00, two identical jaegers appeared to the east over the lake at
some distance. They came fairly close at one point, but not close enough to
determine species. They were quite likely Parasitic.
There were numerous flocks of Bonaparte's Gulls (finally), but nothing with
them.
The usual array of ducks was present including White-winged and Surf
Scoters. I did see Horned Grebe at one point.
Not much has shown at Point Edward yet this year because we have not had
sustained northerly winds. I did have two identical jaegers on September 26
late in the afternoon, but again species determination was inconclusive.
Directions to Point Edward Lakewatch: Find Front St. in Sarnia (along river
in downtown) and follow it to its very north end, about 1.2 km from 402
overpass. Turn left onto Victoria Ave. and travel 1.1 km to Fort St.
(right, north side). Go to end of street and you will see parking lot
overlooking Lake Huron.
Blake A. Mann
Wallaceburg
Chatham-Kent, Ontario
boatmannATkentDOTnet
