BARRINGTON — The saying goes, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” In the case of birds, that might be true. Winter in New Hampshire often brings an irruption of birds such as Common Redpolls, Pine Siskins, White-winged and Red Crossbills, Evening and Pine Grosbeaks, and American Tree Sparrows that spend the rest of the year in more northerly climes. Not all visit feeders, but Evening Grosbeaks certainly do, and I haven’t seen one in ages. There was a time when I wasn’t particularly fond of their ravenous ways, but now I sort of miss seeing them.
The male Evening Grosbeak looks like an overgrown American Goldfinch in winter plumage: dull yellow-green overall, a black tail, and dark wings with white wingbars, much larger on the grosbeak. The female is similar but grayer overall. The male has a yellow eye stripe and both sexes have a large, pale yellow, conical bill—the better to open sunflower and various wild seeds.
The black mark against the Evening Grosbeak, in my experience, is that they commonly appear in flocks of 20 to 30 and with their voracious appetite for sunflower seeds can empty one’s feeder in a matter of hours. And once they have discovered an abundant food source, one can bet they’ll stick around most of the winter. Expect to buy sunflower seeds in 50-pound bags.
Although none have visited my yard in ages, surprisingly, the Evening Grosbeak is listed as “common” in our area except for the summer. However, summer brings lots of handsome Rose-breasted Grosbeaks from southerly climes, and rarely a Blue Grosbeak. One must head for the West to find a Black-headed Grosbeak.
With the future of Great Bay so much in the news lately, and local communities facing difficult decisions regarding their sewage treatment facilities, the next meeting of Seacoast Audubon should be quite timely. On Wednesday, March 13, Peter Wellenbeger will present a program entitled “Our Endangered Great Bay Estuary.” Peter is the Great Bay-Piscataqua Waterkeeper with Conservation Law Foundation New Hampshire.
The ecological and recreational value of the Great Bay estuary is immeasurable but its future is uncertain. Pollution is pushing the estuary towards a tipping point. Peter will describe the importance of Great Bay to the region, the problems the ecosystem faces, and his role in finding policies and innovative solutions for these problems. The meeting will be held at the Seacoast Science Center at Odiorne State Park in Rye and begins at 7:30 p.m., with refreshments at 7 p.m. All are welcome.