10 Winter Finches in Michigan

1. Pine Grosbeak- The largest finch (8”-10”) in Michigan that shows up from the subartic and boreal forests across North America in erratic winter invasions.
2. Purple Finch- A common migrant and winter resident statewide form September to May. Sticks close to forest edges and feeders with lots of tree cover and shrubs.
3. House Finch- Native to western North America, the House Finch can now be seen year-round near human development. Many House Finches migrate south in fall and those that stay in very cold winters might not survive without feeders.
4. American Goldfinch- Bright cheery bird even in its olive green winter wardrobe. Found year-round at Michigan bird feeders but numbers may increase greatly if northern birds’ food sources decline.
5. Red Crossbill- They are considered the great gypsies of the bird community. They wander through conifer forests looking for pine cones. Their unusual cross bill is perfect to pry open conifer cones.
6. White-winged Crossbill- With very poor spruce cone crops in the Northeast, wandering birds may show up throughout the Northeast.
7. Common Redpolls- A predictably unpredictable winter visitor. Some years the flocks are greater than others.
8. Hoary Redpolls- They can often be found mixed in with flocks of Common Redpolls and irrupt every few years.
9. Pine Siskin- Small brown and tan streaked bird with flashes of yellow. Found year-round in Michigan but more common some years than others.
10. Evening Grosbeak- One of the largest finches at 8” it’s almost twice the size of its close relative, the American Goldfinch. They were given the name Evening because that’s when they were originally only thought to sing and grosbeak is french for large beak.

For the full 2012-2013 Winter Finch Forecast go to: http://www.ofo.ca/ofo-docs/WinterFinchForecast2012-2013.pdf

Related Articles:

- Goldfinch Migration http://bit.ly/pEuMKo 

- House Finches: Those Year-round Red Heads http://bit.ly/opD7kb

- Bird of the week: Pine Siskin http://bit.ly/qNqIuK

- Birdwatching: Look for the Out-of-Towners http://bit.ly/q6Pkco

- Comparing House Finches and Purple Finches http://bit.ly/oOogOf

- Where do you place finch feeders? http://bit.ly/p4XHU4