Keep watching for this flag to start waving when the Rosy-Finches arrive at the feeders of the Crest House, in the Sandia Mountains just east of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Feeders will be put up on Wednesday, October 29. Plan to combine your visit with a stop at Bosque del Apache NWR, site of the Festival of the Cranes November 18-23– flocks of all three species of Rosies should be at Sandia Crest by then!
ROSY BULLETIN: Wednesday, October 29:Fran and Dave put up two feeders today:
One is to the east of the Crest House, and another is on the patio. Earlier in the day, a dead female White-winged Crossbill was found on the sidewalk next to Crest House. No reports of rosy-finch sightings as yet, but we will keep you posted! <<Details at CORRESPONDENCE link>> |
WINTER | FEEDERS PUT UP | FIRST ROSY_FINCH SIGHTING |
2002 | OCTOBER 30 | NOVEMBER 19 |
2003 | OCTOBER 19 | NOVEMBER 15 |
2004 | NOVEMBER 06 | NOVEMBER 07 |
2005 | OCTOBER 26 | NOVEMBER 12 |
2006 | OCTOBER 30 | NOVEMBER 02 |
2007 | OCTOBER 31 | OCTOBER 31 |
The interior race of the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (spelled “Grey-crowned” in Canada) breeds in these mountains, and the coastal (Hepburn’s or gray-cheeked) race nests to the west. Mid-October saw a surge in numbers of rosy-finches, as revealed by this selective search of the postings of the eagle-watchers:
September 19 [Day 25] 20 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches,
October 3 [Day 38] 86 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches
October 4 [Day 39] 25 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches
October 18 [Day 53] 552 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches
October 22 [Day 57] Finch movement comprised 786 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches, 35 Pine Grosbeaks and 25 White-winged Crossbills. Two of 5 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches feeding near the site at 0810 were the coastal subspecies littoralis (“Hepburn’s Rosy-Finch”), the first time they have been recorded at the site this season.
Their migration flight path to Sandia Crest takes them through Oregon, Utah, Wyoming Colorado and northern New Mexico, where birders are on the alert for their arrival. As soon as I hear of any reports I will keep everyone updated.
September 6th, 2010 at 11:44 am Wow, what a great article! I’ll mention this on my blog…