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Winter 1993-94:
Winter finches were the highlight of the FeederWatch season As this issue of Birdscope went to press, we were eagerly awaiting the arrival of thousands of FeederWatch data forms--telling the complete story of winter 1993-94. But even without the numbers in front of us, we have heard lots of rumors, and it's fun to speculate on what the highlights of this past season will be. FeederWatchers, at least in the Northeast Region, were treated to one of the most eventful seasons in recent memory. Hints of a winter bird invasion came early in the fall (before the official FeederWatch season) when flocks of Purple Finches, Pine Siskins, and Evening Grosbeaks moved south out of Canada--how far south, we'll soon find out. At the same time, bird observatories in Michigan and Ontario noted large southbound movements of Red-breasted Nuthatches and Black-capped Chickadees, the latter a species not usually thought of as irruptive.As winter progressed, other winter finches appeared, notably Pine Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls. The largest invasions were in New England, although the redpolls continued to push southward with each successive winter snowstorm. By February, flocks of redpolls poured into the mid-Atlantic states, with up to 200 birds reported at feeders in Maryland and New Jersey. A few individuals were seen as far south as Texas and South Carolina, but were any FeederWatchers there to count them? Many of the "winter finches" move south at fairly regular intervals, every few years or so, but this is the first major invasion of redpolls since Project FeederWatch began--in fact, the first since 1976. Away from the Northeast, speculations are more difficult. In the Southeast Region, winter finch invasions typically involve American Goldfinches and Purple Finches rather than their northern cousins. A report of over 600 goldfinches at a time in a Louisiana yard may indicate a major invasion into that region as well. Apparently no major bird movements took place in the Southwest or along the West Coast; in fact Pine Siskins were notably absent this winter throughout California. How widely did the finch invasion spread? How did overall numbers compare with past winters? How did the stay-at-home resident species fare through one of the coldest winters in many years? Stay tuned for the Autumn Birdscope with the Project FeederWatch annual report, which will give a complete account of the 1993-94 season. |
