birdsoup

Advanced scouts farther north are signaling that the boys are preparing to soon move south in big numbers.  This, they predict, will be a major invasion years.  Get ready, the finches are coming.

Every 3 to 5 years the wild seed crops in Canada are not up to par.  That means that birds that normally winter in Canada will not find enough food to eat and will head south in search of a meal.  So clean you finch feeders, stock up on thistle (also called nyjer) and prepare to watch for strangers at your feeders.

Already this year there are reports of many Red-breasted Nuthatches in Westchester.  Last year there weren’t any.   Counties a little farther north in NY are sighting lots of Pine Siskins.   Be on alert.  There is hope that Redpolls will also be spending the winter in our area.

Some people are also predicting that Crossbills and Grosbeaks are on the way. 

Of course, those are the same people that predicted the Yankees would win the World Series and the South would rise again.

Still, it is good to have a dream, something to hope for.  You never know.