A truly welcome visitor both to the forest and the bird feeders, the Evening Grosbeak is a voracious eater so be prepared to watch your supply of sunflower seeds dwindle. They are a finch and will sometimes appear with American Goldfinch. It's hard to tell the female grosbeak from the winter plumage of the Goldfinch so check out the beak if you have a flock hit your feeders, but you'll know something is up just by the size of the flock. By the way "evening" has nothing to do with anything.The male is even more colourful with a dark head and yellow horns.A few more facts:
1) In spring the beak colour changes from pale yellow to green the colour of new spruce buds.
2) They are natural predators of spruce bud worms.
3)They eat raw salt so you'll see them on roadways.
4) They inhabit mixed and coniferous forests, and can be seen across Canada and the US from west to east, but were initially a western mountainous bird.
For more Information the best site is http://www.hwww.ca/hww2.asp?id=40&cid=7
A post to http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/.
I get very excited when I see one. They're not common at my feeders. My woods is mainly deciduous, and maybe a little too far South, which may be why. I do usually have a pair of their cousins, the Rose-breasted, that hang around in the summer.
ReplyDeleteThese are lovely shots, Gary!
Interesting facts about this bird that I didn't know!! It's great that they eat spruce bud worm. I wish there were more of them out there feasting on this tasty treat!! ~karen
ReplyDeleteOccasionally we'll see them here too in the summer. They will usually swoop in and clean a bush of berries or rose hips. Nice shots of your 'visitors'.
ReplyDeleteWonderful images, the Grosbeaks,in Britain, never comes to the feeders, fancy that.
ReplyDeleteThey are pretty birds, great photos. I would love to see these beauties at my feeders.
ReplyDeleteLovely shots. I guess they are a sign of approaching spring?
ReplyDeleteNice images... since I grew up in NYC I was never much of a birder other than pigeons (LOL). Now I'm working on getting past my "Mammalcentric" view of things! post like your are helping get to recognize a wider range of birds than I ever had done before.
ReplyDeleteI am always impressed at bird photos! Focusing is perfect even the bird is covered with lots of tree branches. Informative post, as always:)
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful weekend.
Yoshi
They are interesting, Louise. I'd also like to see the rosy variety.
ReplyDeleteHi Karen. They have big appetites, which is great for the destruction of the spruce bud worm, but still the problem is warmer winters.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jim.
ReplyDeleteHi Bob. They're great lookers.
ReplyDeleteThey are great to see Eileen.
ReplyDeleteNo, they thrive in the winter also ladyfi.
ReplyDeleteThanks John for the compliments. How did you get to Dallas from the big apple?
ReplyDeleteThanks Yoshi.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots, love his colours:)
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful bird and you really captured them.
ReplyDeleteThink Spring!
A beautiful series, Gary.
ReplyDeleteWonderful images of birds.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a beautiful bird. I sometimes wonder how creatures like this survive the bitter cold.
ReplyDeleteA very attractive bird Ggary and nice shots of them, but I do wonder what the "evening" is all about.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit Jane.
ReplyDeleteHi IGW and she certainly is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHi Willard beauties aren't they?
ReplyDeleteHi Rajesh and thanks for the kind words.
ReplyDeleteHi Al. I guess that's why they eat so much.
ReplyDeleteHi Phil. Early mountain settlers thought they saw them only at night.Hence the name.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, Gary, thank you! They do look like finches (someone I know calls them "flinches") especially the beak ("gros" beak means "fat" beak, I believe).
ReplyDelete-- K
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
Hi Kay. "Gros" as in french for large. It lets them crack seeds and get those spruce bud worms.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos. Happy Weekend.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit Simone.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the information about the grosbeaks!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome EGW.
ReplyDeleteGreat grosbeak photos! Hope to catch a glimpse of them sometime. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks SLH.
ReplyDelete