{"id":7516,"date":"2019-01-07T13:14:18","date_gmt":"2019-01-07T18:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/?p=7516"},"modified":"2019-01-07T13:14:18","modified_gmt":"2019-01-07T18:14:18","slug":"evening-grosbeak-riverwood-mississauga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/evening-grosbeak-riverwood-mississauga\/","title":{"rendered":"An Evening Grosbeak Drops In To Visit Riverwood in Mississauga"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three seasons of the year it’s not unusual to find a Grosbeak at the Riverwood Conservancy in Mississauga, Ontario. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks return each spring to nest and raise their families in the summer while feasting on the caterpillars; In autumn, they wing their way south for a change of menu. This winter, though, we had a different kind of Grosbeak arrive at Riverwood to munch on the sunflower seeds in the feeders: an Evening Grosbeak.<\/p>\n

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Do Evening Grosbeaks Normally Winter in Southern Ontario?<\/h2>\n

Yes and no. Most Evening Grosbeaks don’t bother coming south most winters. Instead, they stay in the northern forests year round. However, according to the AllAboutBirds website<\/strong><\/a>, every few years the cone crops in those northern coniferous forests are poor; in those years, large flocks of Evening Grosbeaks may move south looking for better food sources.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

This female Evening Grosbeak seemed quite happy with the black oil sunflower seeds on offer. She spent almost five minutes standing at the feeder, cracking them, scooping out the seed kernel and spitting out the shells. I felt a bit like I was watching a player at a baseball game.<\/p>\n

Tricky Lighting Can Make Bird ID More Difficult<\/h2>\n

Luckily for me, a female Evening Grosbeak is pretty unmistakable. It’s roughly robin-sized, and has clear yellow, white and black markings. And that bill is a big clue, too.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

I did notice while watching her, though, that the winter light could change her colouring. Her bill, which normally seems pale yellow, turned quite orange at some angles.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

And her nape which seemed yellow most of the time, turned mossy green.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

By the way, is it ok to call her beak “fat” if it’s done in French? That’s roughly what the Gros in grosbeak means. I guess from the front it really is the most noticeable id feature–though the little black outlines around the white bib are kind of pretty and the shortness of the tail shows up.<\/p>\n

Hoping for More Grosbeaks<\/h2>\n

I quite enjoyed spending some time watching this female. She was very active, flying from sapling, to tree, to tray feeder, to the ground, to the stump feeders, and criss-crossing across the Yellow trail. She has been seen often this week quite close to the Classroom\/Visual Arts Mississauga and fortunately at the top of the steep hill down to the Credit River valley.<\/p>\n

I am hoping, though, that she may be joined by a few more Grosbeaks this winter. It would be nice to see some of the bright yellow males I remember so vividly from my teen winters in Kingston. I guess I’ll have to keep watching!<\/p>\n

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Related Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n