Finches and Euphonias

Cassin's Finch - Sasquatch Ski Resort, BC Cassin's finch are usually found in the interior of British Columbia in the drier areas. This year a flock of them were up in the rain forest areas of Sasquatch Ski Resort. It is very difficult to identify the three red to purple finches where they might overlap in range. The signs that this is a Cassin's is the brown nape, the white eyering, and the pointier bill. This is a male, where the female have no red to speak of. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com 2022
Cassin's Finch - Sasquatch Mountain Resort, BC
Common Redpoll - St. Henry's Church, AB During a visit to Southern Alberta to put eyes on some Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch I was able to get some photos of some winter visitors. At St Henry's church, there were several Common Redpolls including this very red fellow. There is a reason that these members of the finch family have the Latin name Flammea, meaning
Common Redpoll - St. Henry's Church, AB
Gray-crowned Rosy-finch - St Henry's Church, AB In the middle of the Alberta prairies stands a little Roman Catholic Church where they feed the birds through out the winter. This year there was a good deal of Gray-crowned Rosy-finch as well as a number of Redpolls making good use of the feeder. St. Henry's Church was built in 1906 and is still today in use for services. The finches came in two varieties, one being Gray-capped and the other was Hepburn's. This is a Gray-capped and with the Hepburn's having gray under the eye as well. Michael W Klotz 2021 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Gray-crowned Rosy-finch - St Henry's Church, AB
Lesser Goldfinch - Pincher Creek, AB During a winter trip to southern Alberta, a quick look at the eBird rarities and an amazing find at a feeder in Pincher Creek had me make a quick stop in a residential area near the center of town. This yellow and black finch is certainly a long way from his usual range, especially during the cold winter months. Lesser Goldfinch have been breeding as far north as Osoyoos, BC in recent years and that seemed like a screech based on their regular territory typically not travelling further north than Oregon. For one to be in Alberta in the winter is completely another. Michael W Klotz 2021 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Lesser Goldfinch - Pincher Creek, AB
Common Redpoll - Frank Lake, AB The Redpoll is an iconic winter finch at feeders where temperatures are below freezing. These hardy little birds are residents of the farthest northern climates in the summer and are circum-polar meaning they live in areas all the way around the top of the earth. The red patch on the top of the forehead sets them apart from Pine Siskins with a slightly more delicate call. The males also get a red wash on their belly in breeding season. Michael W Klotz 2021 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Common Redpoll - Frank Lake, AB
Gray-crowned Rosy-finch - Pitt Lake, BC When the snow hits the mountains hard here, the Rosy-Finch have very little to eat, so they travel down the mountain to get their stomachs full. This was the same group of storms that dumped so much rain on the area, we had flooding of entire cities like Abbotsford. There were two birds here in the parking lot of Pitt Lake Boat Launch. They were relatively unbothered with the folks wandering around only moving if some unsuspecting group came to close. Michael W Klotz 2021 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Gray-crowned Rosy-finch - Pitt Lake, BC
American Goldfinch - Colony Farms, BC A very common garden bird around most of North America, this little finch is always on the look out for thistle plants. They can be found in pairs with the male singing and calling when on the wing. They will come to feeders where there are sunflower or safflower chips or black thistle seed. There are three species of Goldfinch in North America with this bird being the most common, followed by the Lesser Goldfinch, which is found on the west coast and south west states to Texas. The last is the Lawrence's Goldfinch only found in California, Arizona and a small section of New Mexico. Michael W Klotz 2021 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
American Goldfinch - Colony Farms, BC
Pine Grosbeak - Maplewood Flats, BC These large finches are a treat for us in the winter as they are not regular visitors. Most of the finch population has what they call irruptive migration. That is, they follow the food and can show up any time during the winter months and not be seen for a couple of years after. This group of four quiet finches were after the Pacific Crab Apples in Maplewood flats. The adult males are quite a bit more red. Michael W Klotz 2020 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Pine Grosbeak - Maplewood Flats, BC
House Finch - Richmond Nature Park, BC Male House finch are extremely handsome in the spring with their fresh coat of red paint and his melodic song. They are common around urban areas hitting up feeders in small groups. They are found in every state save Alaska these days, but that was not always the case. They were a western bird up until the 1950's when they were released on the Eastern Seaboard. They very quickly expanded their range and now are found across the majority of North America. Michael W Klotz 2020 - www.TheBirdBlogger.comPicture
House Finch - Richmond Nature Park, BC
Gray-Crowned Rosy-Finch - Iona Island, BC Once or twice a year we are lucky to get a view of a Gray-Crowned Rosy-finch down towards sea level. This year the spot was Iona Island, which is very close to the Vancouver Airport. Many of the usual suspects were down grabbing a photo of the bird which
Gray-Crowned Rosy-Finch - Iona Island, BC
American Goldfinch - Pitt Meadows, BC During a search for a rare bird migrating through, I came across a group of Goldfinches that had found a pocket of cattails along the road just above a section of dandelions in bloom and seed. One of the birds was quite happy to strike a pose on the top of one of last years rush seed heads. The yellow in these Goldfinch are striking, but the black on the heads and wings, there are few birds that are as beautiful. American Goldfinch molt those beautiful feathers every year and become a very drab olive green in September and have the yellow back in May. Sibley's has done an amazing job of capturing the molt on this page. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
American Goldfinch - Pitt Meadows, BC
Lesser Goldfinch - Orange, CA Lesser Goldfinch are one of three species of goldfinch in North America and this bird being the second most common. The range of this bird i from the southwestern states all the way into northern South America. They are very commonly found in flocks picking at the seeds of thistle or sunflower. Males that are in breeding plumage on the eastern part of the range are solid black on the head and back with the light yellow on the underparts including the throat, belly and under tail coverts. The western birds have the olive green on the back seen here in Peters Canyon Regional Park. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Lesser Goldfinch - Orange, CA
Red Crossbill - Driving along the highway on the way back from Tofino, we noticed a flock of birds on the side of the highway just off Taylor River bridge. It turned out to be Red crossbills licking the salt from the road. They were several birds on the ground tilting their heads almost upside down to get the most salt possible. I have seen flocks of crossbills come to the ocean shore and lick the salt from the rocks. There must be a deficiency of salt in the pine cone nuts. Michael Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Red Crossbill - Taylor River, BC
Red Crossbill - There were Red Crossbills on the side of the road on the Pacific Rim Highway in the mountain pass. They were eating salt off of the road as is common with crossbills. This female is more yellow than red, but perfectly normal for this breed. The cross bill is built to suit the needs of accessing evergreen cones with the top bill overlapping the bottom bill so that the cone opens and allows their tongue to get at the nut. Michael Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Red Crossbill (Female) - Taylor River
Evening Grosbeak - Langley I had been searching for these finches for months for my year list. I stalked them from eBird where they were posted 25-20 blocks up the hill from my house, I went to the north shore to try my luck. Everything turned up a big donut hole. My fantastic family was in town and show up to the house. The 10 of us head to the deck and proceed to have a good time. One thing you need to know about this family is we have some very loud voices and we are not afraid to use them. All of a sudden a flash of yellow hits the feeder. I know what it is by the white contrasting with the black and yellow, but I don't believe it. I have had this feeder there for 10 years and not one of these beauties visits..... ever. I yell/whisper for everyone to be quiet, like a mad man of course, and slink off the deck to get my camera. Everyone is still looking at me like I have dropped a marble or two. I finally get the camera on the pair and this is the result. The family finally decided after 15 minutes they didn't find the birds as interesting as I did and went on with the boisterous conversation. The pair hung around for the next 2 hours only heading to the tree if an arm flung up from out of the crowd. The strangest thing, I haven't seen them back since that day. So thanks are given to my very vocal family. You are welcome on my deck anytime. Michael Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Evening Grosbeak - Langley
Purple Finch - Delta, BC Purple Finch Every year the birds come to the dyke along Boundary Bay to winter. There is always Purple Finch feeding in this area on the Pacific Crab Apples. This one had finished and was just leaving. Michael W Klotz 2019 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Purple Finch - Delta, BC
Hoary Redpoll - Vancouver, BC This tiny little finch lives in some of the coldest climates imaginable yet it somehow survives on seeds throughout the winter. This special Redpoll was not like the others and is rarely seen in our neck of the woods but came down with the Common Redpolls to Queen Elizabeth Park. Michael W Klotz 2019 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Hoary Redpoll - Vancouver, BC
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Pine Grosbeak - Burnaby Mountain, BC
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch on Seymour Mountian.
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch - Seymour Mountain, BC
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Common Redpoll - Vancouver, BC