A moment to appreciate the Pine Grosbeak

There's a decent movement of Pine Grosbeaks along the north shore this week. We have a dozen or so visting our feeders. Along the Lake Superior coast, they can be seen and heard flying northwest on most days.

Last year we had a bumper crop of Mountain-Ash fruit and we enjoyed an abundance of Pine Grosbeaks through the winter. This year during our drought, very little fruit was set and all of that has been eaten. I'll be surprised if any Pine Grosbeaks remain here for the winter.

The first photo was taken today - I've never noticed pink in the wing bars before. The others are older. What a beautiful creature...

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch continues in MacDiarmid (and some other winter finches)

The Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch continues to be a regular visitor to a feeder in Rocky Bay-MacDiarmid, beside Lake Nipigon. Many thanks to Greg Stroud for sharing this awesome photo, taken this afternoon.

[click on image to enlarge]

MacDiarmid, ON. Courtesy of Greg Stroud

Closer to home, the feeders are hopping with Pine Grosbeaks, Purple Finches, Pine Siskins and various redpols.

A feast of Mountain-Ash in the Town of Marathon

A bumper crop of Mountain-Ash, and to a lesser extent ornamental crab-apple, fruit has attracted thousands of Pine Grosbeak, Cedar Waxwing and Purple Finch to our community.

[click on images to enlarge]

Two Common Ravens and a Pine Grosbeak - birds with a circumboreal distribution.

[click on photo to enlarge]

This is a very typical scene in our backyard. It includes two species (Common Raven and Pine Grosbeak) and a distinctive genus (birch -  Betula) which can be found together in Canada, Greenland, Scotland, Finland, Russia, Mongolia and China and elsewhere.

Pine Grosbeaks get their fill

[click images to enlarge]

Some yard birds

In lieu of Mountain-ash...

After two heavy mast years, the abundant Mountain-ash along the north shore bore little fruit in 2010 and now virtually none remains on the trees. Our fruit-eating birds and mammals have depleted the more consistent wild crops of Red Osier Dogwood, Squashberry and Pin Cherry. We can expect that far fewer fruit-eating birds - American Robins, waxwings, Pine Grosbeaks et al. - will spend the winter in our area. Presently, the local crop of ornamental crabapple fruit is being rapidly consumed by European Starling, Pine Grosbeak, Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings, American Robin, Purple Finch and a (late) Gray Catbird.

[click on images to enlarge]

Gray Catbird (Oct 22)

Bohemian Waxwing (Oct 21)

Cedar Waxwings (Oct 28)

American Robin (Oct 22)

Pine Grosbeak (Nov 10)

Photo courtesy of Cheryl Vosburgh

Voyageur Hiking Trail at Marathon

The Voyaguer Hiking Trail runs, somewhat intermittently, from Thunder Bay, east to Manitoulin Island. There is a short (2.1 km) section which crosses the coast from the Town of Marathon, north to Sturdee Cove.

Pine Grosbeak at ski club

One of three Pine Grosbeaks visiting a feeder along the Green Trail at the Marathon Cross Country Ski Club. The feeder was also being visited by Black-capped and Boreal Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches.

Backyard feeder update

The only new bird I've seen lately was a lone Pine Grosbeak, the first in our yard this winter, this morning. We've encountered them out in the bush on most of our outings.

Other regulars include singles of Downy Woodpecker, Common Raven, Northern Cardinal, Fox Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow and a pair of Dark-eyed Juncos. A half a dozen Black-capped Chickadees are the most frequent visitors and a Pileated Woodpecker flies over the house most mornings.

Grosbeaks from Manitouwadge

Photo by Tammie Hache
Photo by Tammie Hache
In nearby Manitouwadge, Tammie Hache had a great assemblage of Grosbeaks - Pine and Evening - at her feeders today. You can read Tammie's birding update here. Thanks for sharing your great photos Tammie.