If you think that winter is lacking in vibrance then look no further than a few of these winter feathered friends to bring your cold season a splash of colour. Photos and tips for how to attract them to your feeders are included thanks to the wonderful knowledge and skills of Jackie Sills.
Pine Grosbeaks will bring a nice red for the males and a muted yellow tone for females and can be seen till early April. They have a melodious call and can be found in coniferous patches eating the buds off branches, but they also eat seeds. Their favourite at the feeder is black oil sunflower seeds.
The Blue Jay gives the winter blues
a new meaning with one of the most colourful coats found in the corvid family. The fastest way to find them is to listen for their raucous calls with incredible variation. Shelled peanuts will attract them to your feeder. In the wild they look for seeds and have found a way to eat ants in the non- winter months.
A Common Redpoll is easily recognized by its red cap. It is the hardiest of songbirds in terms of cold temperature tolerance.
It considers this area to be a nice warm place to migrate to in the winter. They
love shelled sunflower seeds at the feeder but will forage for seeds in nature with a particular fancy for birch and alder cones, so check out those groves first. They look like a sparrow from the back.
Bohemian Waxwings have beautiful orange accents and a bright yellow tail band. My favorite way to find them is listening for the high pitched “zirrr” sound they make and then looking up to see big flocks moving as one. Mountain ash trees are a favourite of these berry eaters, but they will also eat juniper berries. Check out your favourite berry patches to see if they’re around.
