Backyard Birding with Wild Birds Unlimited

A Joyful Invasion

by Kevin & Linda Pillow

Here we go again! The 2020-2021 Winter Finch Forecast is out and it’s predicting a very strong irruption of winter finches. About 20 years ago, birder Ron Pittaway began analyzing the summer’s growing conditions and forecasting if these bird groups, called winter finches, would irrupt in the wintertime. Since then we’ve been using this forecast to see if we will be lucky enough for them to head our way.

If summer growing conditions in the northern boreal forests aren’t ideal, groups of birds will irrupt during the winter months in search of food. An irruption is a dramatic, irregular migration of large numbers of birds. There are 16 species that can irrupt, but in our area we should expect it to be the American goldfinch, pine siskins, and the red-breasted nuthatch that come in large numbers. There’ve already been reports on eBird of redbreasted nuthatches showing up in September. This means they are already on the move and most likely will descend on the Hill Country in late November, growing in numbers through December.

Most backyard birders look forward to an irruption year; it can bring birds in that aren’t normally seen. But it’s the sheer numbers in which these birds arrive that is the real wow factor. They stay all winter and into spring when it’s time to head back to their nesting grounds. To attract these birds to your backyard feeding stations provide fresh Nyjer and sunflower chips for American goldfinches and pine siskins; peanuts and suet for nuthatches. Our year-round resident, lesser goldfinch, will get in on the fun at the Nyjer and chips as well. An irruption year is exciting to observe and quite captivating as we really don’t see this many birds at the feeders at one time. Fill those feeders and enjoy the show!

Happy Birding!

Kevin & Linda Pillow are the proud owners of Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop located at 855 Junction Hwy in Kerrville. Each staff member is a Certified Bird Feeding Specialist and can help you discover a refuge in your own backyard. 830-895-7393.

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