Weekend feeder update

There hasn't been a whole lot of change in the feeder gang this week. A lone Evening Grosbeak was here for a day. A pair of male Pine Grosbeaks and 5 or 6 American Goldfinches are daily visitors.

Here's what I've seen today:

Red-bellied Woodpecker -1
Hairy Woodpecker - 3
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Mourning Dove - 1
White-breasted Nuthatch - 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1
Blue Jay - 10 +
Black-capped Chickadee - 10 +
American Tree Sparrow - 2
American Goldfinch - 6
Pine Grosbeak - 2

While the bird activity has been constant this week, deer visits and persistence are on the rise.

Pine Grosbeaks - first of this season

Three of the six Pine Grosbeaks we saw today.
After watching the Northern Hawk Owl this morning, we returned home to find six Pine Grosbeaks at the bottom of our drive. These were the first we've seen in central Ontario this season and, like the Evening Grosbeaks, weren't expected given the this year's bumper crop of Mountain Ash fruit north of Lake Superior.
Ron Pittaway's Winter Finch Forecast, 2008 provides a thorough discussion of the distribution of irruptive winter finches in Ontario.
Male Pine Grosbeak in a Mountain Ash tree, we observed on the Marathon (Thunder Bay District), Ontario, Christmas Bird Count on December 21.

After the storm the pecking order was set aside

Here we have Evening Grosbeaks, Pine Grosbeaks and a Hairy Woodpecker. It isn't common for us to see both grosbeaks on the feeder at the same time. Typically, the Evening Grosbeaks displace the Pine Grosbeaks. After a prolonged, very heavy blizzard, these birds seemed more intent upon feeding.

Martha snapped this shot while I shoveled snow. Click on the image to see it at its best.