All summer I wondered if the wildfires in Canada would affect the conifer crops and drive some of the irruptive species further south this winter. I miss the comical Red-breasted Nuthatches. I think it’s been about three years since I’ve seen one. If they were coming they’d be here by now, so it looks like I’ll have to wait another year.
I did spot a female Purple Finch on one of my feeders last week. I haven’t seen one of those in years. She arrived with a small flock of House Finches. The female Purple Finches (top) are much more decorated than the female House Finches (bottom):
Other than that it’s just the usual characters so far like this Northern Cardinal who loves peanuts:
And this Hairy Woodpecker who prefers pecking peanuts out of a feeder rather than selecting them from a cup:
