Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn
Bird Irruptions
Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com.
In parts of Canada, where many of these finches would happily spend their winters, there is a particularly poor food crop this year. Alder and birch seeds, mountain ash fruits, spruce and other conifer seeds are in low supply this year—as happens from time to time. This food scarcity drives these birds that are adapted to those food types further south to places like Maine where the food crop isn’t as bad this year.