I'm in NE Salem and we've had a number (8-ish) of House Finch at our feeder
pretty much every day this winter.
For what it's worth.
On Wed, Jan 18, 2017 at 1:40 PM, Tom McNamara <tmcmac67@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Birders,
Like Sandy's experience, there has been an absolute dearth (i.e. none) of
House Finches at our feeders. Past years they were among the most numerous
birds.
Tom
On Tue, Jan 17, 2017 at 6:45 PM, <sandyleapt@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi All,
Finding myself semi-house bound in Northeast Portland I have been amusing
myself by feeding, watching and trying to count the birds in my garden. I
was trying to sort and count Song and other Sparrows when I noticed a bird
with a raised crest. I started comparing the bird to a Song Sparrow, which
is what I was expecting to see, and noticed the differences in color and
pattern on the bird's face (from the side). The next thing I noticed was
the sharp dark and white stripes/streaks on the breast, side, and flank of
the bird.
I grabbed for the camera and the bird flew. Hasn't made another
appearance today. I did get out my bird books and found the female
Cassin's Finch pictured in the National Audubon Society's Field Guide to
Birds - Western Region visually matches the finch I saw today.
Other pleasant surprises this week: one Hermit Thrush, one Fox Sparrow
and at least one Golden-Crowned Sparrow.
I am enjoying the opportunity to watch four species of sparrows interact
and trying to sort out the backyard bird pecking order. I think it goes
Stellar Jay, Northern Flicker, Starling, Western Scrub Jay, Spotted Towhee,
Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow, House Sparrow, Junco. Downy Woodpecker shows up
when all the other birds are in another part of the garden as does the
Hermit Thrush. The Black-capped Chickadee and Bush-tits just do their own
thing paying no attention to the other birds. All the birds show up when a
Robin comes by and starts knocking berries off the Euonymus bush. Robins
are very messy feeders.
One odd thing, there should be House Finches in the garden, I don't think
I've seen any this winter.
Cheers,
Sandy Leaptrott
NE Portland
