Maine

Days are getting shorter, nights are cooler, the leaves are turning colors, but perhaps a greater sign that winter is approaching is the annual release of Ron Pittaway’s Winter Finch Forecast. Pittaway’s report focuses on food availability, typically within the boreal forest, and what that means each year for our winter finches. Will they come south or is there enough food so they’ll stay north? Click here for a link to his full report.

In short, this will not be a good year (for Maine) for a finch invasion. The abundance of food across Canada’s boreal forest will likely prevent birds from having to wander southward this winter. Several birders from around Maine weighed in the fruit and cone crops from their area and found Maine’s food availability to be fairly similar to that of Ontario’s. Their reports can be view here.