I think you are right about the weather. I have a long Pyracantha hedge that is covered in red berries every year. This fall over a couple of weeks the birds had eaten the berries off the top foot of the hedge - where it's easy to stand on the fence and grab some goodies. The berries on the front of the hedge (about 6 ft tall) were barely touched. On the day in October when we had that slushy snow storm, the hedge was stripped in a few hours.....mostly Robins, but a lot of other birds joined in. Party time.
Karen
Karen Morley
kdmorley at yahoo dot com
________________________________
From: Chris Tonra <>
To:
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 12:22 PM
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Goldfinches &House Finches decline?
I think this is most likely a symptom of the mild conditions thus far
this winter. There is still plenty of food around, so many feeder
birds have not yet concentrated in big feeder flocks.
I was just in Maine, where it has also been very mild thus far and
many birders were also concerned about chickadee numbers in their
yards, but my feeling is they just aren't needing the extra resources
just yet.
I'd guess you will start seeing good numbers once the cold really hits.
Chris Tonra
Takoma Park
On Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 6:40 PM, Les Roslund <> wrote:
> A real shortage of both species at my place near Easton also. Two House
> Finches around some of the time, and from 0 to 5 Goldfinch. However in most
> other years at this time of year there would be a dozen or more House
> Finches and often 20 or more Goldfinch. I'm beginning to worry.
>
> LES ROSLUND
> TALBOT COUNTY
> EASTON, MD
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
> Behalf Of Janet Millenson
> Sent: Monday, November 21, 2011 5:43 PM
> To:
> Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Goldfinches &House Finches decline?
>
> Yes, the same is true in my yard. Both species used to be daily
> visitors, but now I seldom even hear them flying over. Maybe I'd have
> more finches if I could afford to keep a feeder filled with niger seed!
>
> Let's see if the upcoming local Christmas Bird Counts tally
> significantly fewer of these birds or not.
>
> Janet Millenson
> Potomac, MD (Montgomery County)
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> "Look at the birds!" -- Pascal the parrot
>
>
>
> On 11/21/2011 5:14 PM, Elda Banks wrote:
>> I have seen very few Goldfinches and House Finches lately. Is this true
> for other backyard birders?
>>
>> Elda Banks
>> Colesville
>> Silver Spring
>>
>>
>
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