Blog de Puree

What a morning for birdwatching! In the span of 20 minutes, we were visited by seven species of birds.

The highlight though, was two or three Purple Finches, which made a first time appearance at our feeders to dine on black-oil sunflower seeds.

At first we thought it was a House Finch because the reddish/purple head stood out, but then noticed that the rest of the body was colored red/purple as well. We also thought that it might be a House Sparrow that lost a fight with a can of paint, because it was just as stocky as those that frequent our feeders. However, after perusing our handy Sibley’s Guide, we confirmed our Purple Finches. Also note that the beak is more triangular in shape, similar to a Northern Cardinal.

The Purple Finch is an uncommon bird in wooded and brushy areas, but they do live year-round in our neck of the woods.

Also in attendance this morning were: 2 Tufted Titmice, 2 Black-capped Chickadees, 1 female Northern Cardinal, 1 Female American Goldfinch, 1 Blue Jay, and the usual annoying quarrel of voracious House Sparrows.