Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Winter Finches

(N. B.: after 11 months of blogging about my big year, I thought I would attempt to write something at least somewhat educational.) 

My big year recently received a boost from what is shaping up to be a good finch winter. "What exactly is a good finch winter?" you ask. In this instance, "good" is measured from the perspective of a birder, and a winter qualifies as good with the presence of White-winged Crossbills and Common Redpolls. The local abundance of these species varies among years, and some winters none or very few are present. 

Unlike most northern hemisphere songbirds, White-winged Crossbills do not follow the typical north-to-south migration. Instead, they are nomadic, moving in response to the presence of their principal food. Their geographic distribution is closely associated with that of conifers in the genus Picea, and their movements are linked to patterns of conifer use.

A probability of observation (PObs) map for White-winged Crossbill, taken from the BC Breeding Bird Atlas (http://www.birdatlas.bc.ca). The PObs maps are created by incorporating topographic variables into models to make predictions about the likelihood of detecting a species in all areas of the province, within a fixed amount of time (20 hours). Granted this map is based on data collected by atlases during the breeding season, I would still like to point out the 0% probability of observation in Metro Vancouver (click map to enlarge).  
In late June and July, the cones of most conifers are developing and seed inside cones of tamarack and white spruce are among the most accessible. In May, White-winged Crossbills are often on the move as birds search for developing white spruce cone crops sufficiently large to support breeding. White spruce cones shed most of their seed between mid-September and early November. Crossbills generally remain in the area as long as seed abundance is high and leave once it declines, switching then to black spruce. Black spruce cones open later in the year than white spruce and their seeds often remain inside their cones through to the following summer. In late spring, White-winged Crossbills typically migrate from areas of black spruce to areas with developing white spruce cone crops regardless of black spruce seed availability. When the spruce cone crop is poor, crossbills can irrupt into regions south of their usual range in search of good cone crops.



Distribution of three spruce (Picea) species in British Columbia, taken from the Tree Species Compendium (https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfp/silviculture/compendium/index.htm). Top to bottom: Engelmann spruce, black spruce and white spruce. Notice any similarities to the White-winged Crossbill probability of observation map?
Though perhaps not quite a full scale irruption, some White-winged Crossbills have turned up on Mount Seymour this winter and were a welcome addition to my year list.

#253. White-winged Crossbill. 20 Nov 2015. Mount Seymour.
While crossbills are nomadic, Common Redpolls are considered ‘irruptive’, meaning they exhibit regular seasonal movements, the extent of which varies between years. One suggested cause behind their irruptive movements is their dependence on birch and alder seeds. Seed shortages may cause redpolls to travel farther from their breeding range in winter, stopping when they encounter sufficient food rather than a pre-programmed destination.
#254. Common Redpoll. 21 Nov 2015. Sea Island.
Redpolls have been reported widely this November, but seemingly from everywhere where I was not. It took some time before finally finding some of my own on Sea Island.

Count Update: 254 + 2 on Nov 21.

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