Grosbeaks
Phenology – “a branch of science concerned with the relationship between climate and periodic biological phenomena (as the migration of birds or the flowering and fruiting of plants).
Evening Grosbeaks
Last March, at one of our weekly, socially distanced, masked gatherings outside around a cold fire, a neighbor remarked that “It’s too bad we don’t see as many evening grosbeaks as we used to.” Evening grosbeaks are one of the most colorful birds to visit the feeder in the winter, especially when they arrive in a flock of a dozen or more birds. Any viewing is a sight to be remembered that reminds us why we spend hours at the kitchen window looking out at the feeder. But I realized that I couldn’t really respond to my neighbor’s comment. Although I certainly have vivid memories of these remarkable birds, I couldn’t say how often I’d seen them, whether they were more or less common than they used to be, or what time of the year they were most likely to be seen. I only knew that they were not one of the usual suspects at our feeder, and that they were uncommon enough to make me happy to see them.
According to The Sibley Field Guide to Birds, evening grosbeaks are “common but irregular in mixed forests” and are almost always seen perched in treetops or at bird feeders.” Central New Hampshire is close to the northern edge of their winter range and the southern edge of their summer range. Hence, although we perhaps should find records of nesting pairs in the summer and resident flocks in the winter, we are probably more likely to see evening grosbeaks during their spring or fall migrations.
January 16, 2021. Nancy and I followed the Snake Trail out through the town forest, coming back on the Loop Trail. Back home, a small group of evening grosbeaks flew up when I approached the kitchen window. One returned, sat atop the pole holding the feeder and stayed just long enough for me to get a photo before flying off to join his pals.
My edition of Sibley’s guide is now more than twenty years old. Are its descriptions of habitat, range, and sightings still valid for our region? That is something that I have been able to test using my own records of bird sightings. When we were second home owners, we would record the birds we had seen on each weekend or vacation week in the North Country. After we moved here full-time in 2007, I kept more complete records that eventually were organized into three periods for each month: days 1-10, 11-20, and 21-the end of the month. For colorful infrequent visitors like evening grosbeaks, I often noted the size of the flock in my journals. Moreover, I am one of those who - for unknown reasons - are compelled not only to take copious notes, but also to digitize them. As a result, with some hours of effort, I was able to assemble my notes concerning evening grosbeaks into a spreadsheet that organized sightings by year and by month.
It quickly became apparent that, as expected, evening grosbeaks are primarily migratory visitors to our area, as I only recorded seeing them three times between Memorial Day and Thanksgiving: first on July 15, 2003, then some juveniles during the first week of August 2005, and finally my last summer sighting on June 24, 2009. Thus, while evening grosbeaks have in fact nested nearby a few times, I don’t count on seeing them next summer.
The next question might be whether they are winter residents. Again, the answer seems to be “not really,” as I only recorded six sightings in 24 years between late November through the end of February. The best time to see evening grosbeaks in Sugar Hill is during their spring migration. From 1998 to 2011, I recorded seeing one or more of these birds between early March and early May every year except 2007, and that was a year when we were only in Sugar Hill for a short while in March. During nine of these years, small flocks of as many as 20 birds visited our feeder, often for a couple of days. The two best years for sightings were 2002 and 2005.
While having a couple of short visits a year may not sound very exciting, it was far more than we enjoyed for the nine years between late 2011 and early 2020. During this nine-year period, I only recorded seeing evening grosbeaks once - in early April 2018 - and I didn’t see any small flocks.
Now we can return to the comment that sparked this little essay: “It’s too bad we don’t see as many evening grosbeaks as we used to.” I guess my records tell me that I have to agree with this sad observation. After seeing evening grosbeaks almost every year for 14 years, I hardly saw any for the next nine years. Clearly, evening grosbeaks were certainly more common before 2012 than in the more recent years.
However, perhaps all is not lost. My records show that a flock of grossbeaks was active by our feeder for at least three days in mid-December 2020 as well as one day in mid-January of 2021. And now we’re entering the prime viewing months of March, April and May. Keep your eyes open - perhaps the drought really is over.
December 16, 2020. A flock of at least seven evening grosbeaks at our feeder. This group dropped by several times between December 12 and December 21. These were the best sightings of these welcome visitors since 2005.
Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks
A month ago, when I started working on this essay, I would have said that Evening Grosbeaks and Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks were as closely related as a song sparrow and a fox sparrow. However, when I went to Sibley’s to check on their ranges, I found that the pages for the Evening and Pine Grosbeaks were not accompanied by a page for the Rose-Breasted. I checked twice; yes, the next several pages showed a half-dozen finches. What happened to the Rose-Breasted? As I do know how to use an index, I quickly found the missing grosbeak along with a half dozen other grosbeaks in the section devoted to Tanagers and Cardinals.
Despite the similarity of their names and their over-sized beaks, Rose-Breasted and Evening Grosbeaks are not closely related. They don’t even have the shape and size. Although both are 8 inches long, the Rose-Breasted has a longer tail and a smaller, slimmer body than the Evening Grosbeak.
Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks are summer residents in hardwood forests throughout New England and southern Canada. They show up before Memorial Day and soon join the other birds looking for a nice nesting spot. The male obviously wants to be seen, as he flies from tree to tree, singing loudly each time he lands:
June 2-3, 2008. Yesterday, bluebirds were, for the first time, inspecting the birdhouse by the lilacs. The first goldfinches and some robins were also busy in the front yard, while red-winged blackbirds were active around the pond. Today, a rose-breasted grosbeak was singing from high atop the big birch by the herb garden.
June 25, 2000 (hot, hazy, humid; 86 degrees, rain in late afternoon). I spent an hour and a half birdwatching. The best sighting was a very vocal rose-breasted grosbeak. He warbled from the top of a larch, then was flying around tree tops in the inner meadow. Extremely melodious singer.
Although happy to have his presence known, the male has no interest in posing for a photo. Your only chance is to catch him when he lands for a few seconds on a nearby branch that is not completely obscured in a tangle of vines.
June 9, 2020, 66 degrees, 5 pm. A rose-breasted grosbeak flitted about the tops of the willows in the lower meadow, going branch-to-branch, then tree-to-tree. I managed a couple of photos.
Once the kids are able to fly, we might see a juvenile trying out its wings, but they will soon be gone:
August 26-28, 2007. A female rose-breasted grosbeak, probably a juvenile, was in the front yard on the 26th, by the patio, and then in the lilacs. We haven’t seen it since, and she’s probably on her way south.
Other Grosbeaks
Two other grosbeaks may rarely be seen in our area. Sibley says pine grosbeaks are uncommonly seen, usually in openings in the woods or by fruit trees. They inhabit coniferous forests as far north as Hudson Bay, and they generally remain in Canada for the winter. I have only seen them in our area a few times. The best sighting was just before Christmas in 20012, when we watched eight of them eating apples that had fallen by the stone wall on the other side of Post Road. That small flock may have stayed around for the rest of the winter, for we saw as many as a half dozen at our feeder when we came up for weekends in February and March. I guess they were not impressed with Sugar Hill, because the next one to visit our feeder was in mid-January in 2021.
Blue Grosbeaks, which are uncommon even in their usual southern range, are even more rarely seen as far north as New Hampshire. My first and only sighting of this distinctive bird was in early July 2004. The only other mention of one in my journals was eight years later in mid-May. Our neighbor Rebecca Brown, who can identify untold numbers of birds by their song, reported hearing one in Foss Woods on May 14, 2012.
