Vagabond from the North (WV)

[Donna]

When the temperature hovers around zero and snow lays deep, we may have a feeling of being held captive by the harshness of winter. A day brightens when a flock of evening grosbeaks appears at the feeder to feast on sunflower seeds. The males’ honey-colored plumage gives them the appearance of large, luscious pears, and black-and-white wings add to their striking appearance. Until the 1940s, this bird was unknown in West Virginia. For several decades thereafter it became a common sight statewide, but today it is rarely seen.

The evening grosbeak was called pashcundamo by the Chippewa in reference to its heavy bill, designed for cracking seeds. The first specimen of this bird was collected in 1823 at Sault St. Marie, Michigan, by Henry Schoolcraft. Schoolcraft was a chronicler of Native American life who is credited with identifying Lake Itasca in Minnesota as the source of the Mississippi River. A Major Delafield may be responsible for the mistaken belief that the evening grosbeak is active late in the day. He observed the bird in a swamp near Lake Superior and noted in his journal, “This bird dwells in such dark retreats and leaves them at the approach of night.�

In the mid-nineteenth century, the evening grosbeak began to drift east during winters, reaching Toronto in 1854. The bird is an irruptive migrant, meaning its seasonal movements are irregular and often related to a search for sufficient food. It was speculated at the time that the widespread planting of the ash-leaved maple or box elder drew the birds east. The seeds of these trees are among their favorite foods. By early 1890, the grosbeaks had wandered further east to New England and appeared as far south as Pennsylvania.

After its early eastward movements, the evening grosbeak was found widely in eastern Canada and the northern United States. As they wandered eastward across the continent, the birds remained to nest at many places. Breeding was confirmed in New York State when a nest was recorded in the Adirondack Mountains in 1946. A key factor in their abundance in some areas was outbreaks of the spruce budworm, the larvae of which provides an excellent food source.

Evening grosbeak eating seedsIn his Checklist of West Virginia Birds, Maurice Brooks credits Worth Randle with the first observation of the evening grosbeak in West Virginia at Cranberry Glades in May 1943. The big finch appeared in some numbers over a wide area during the winter of 1945-46. In mid-November 1945, at least a dozen appeared at the home of Bill Lunk near Fairmont, where they fed on box elder seeds. Ann Schley saw 10 in Shepherdstown in December of that year. Relishing the hackberries there, they remained through the winter.

In early 1947, a large number of evening grosbeaks appeared at the Middle Mountain wildlife manager’s cabin, where they pecked a block of salt. Their frequent visits seemed to be solely for the purpose of consuming the salt. In mid-February, Fred Glover saw a dozen of the birds near the crest of Allegheny Mountain at the Randolph-Pendleton county line. It was speculated that they were seeking salt, since salt was available to sheep grazing in the area.

In his “Signs Along the Trail� column, printed in the 1950s in the Charleston Gazette, John Handlan alerted readers to the appearance of evening grosbeaks. He received this information from Charley Handley, the West Virginia Conservation Commission’s game management chief, who passed on to him the noteworthy bird observations of commission personnel. On November 1, 1954, Wayne Bailey and Hans Uhlig encountered a small flock of grosbeaks in the Cheat Mountain.

Extreme weather, often with heavy snowfall, may have been a factor in an influx of grosbeaks in West Virginia in March 1960. On March 13, as a student at West Virginia University, I was birding with Dr. George Hall at the horticulture farm near Morgantown when one flew overhead. Within a few days, as many as 10 were coming daily to a feeder in the neighborhood where I boarded as a student.

During the 1960 incursion, grosbeaks were found as far south as Alabama and Georgia. For well over a decade they came south in numbers every other winter. In early 1966, I found them widely in the Eastern Panhandle’s South Branch Valley. In March of that year, a flock of 100 was seen near a Moorefield highway, where they may have been seeking salt used to melt ice on the road.

The records of bird banders reflect fluctuating numbers of evening grosbeaks over many years. In 1962, his record year for evening grosbeaks, veteran bander Ralph Bell of Clarksville, Pennsylvania, banded 104 of the birds. Bell had first seen grosbeaks while accompanying Chan Robbins on the Garrett County, Maryland, Christmas Bird Count in December 1954. In the last 20 years, however, few have occurred at his farm. A single bird was banded there in 1998.

In the last few decades, the flow of grosbeaks southward in winter has dwindled to a trickle. Volunteers nationwide have identified a plunge in numbers in the new century. Data collected through FeederWatch, a project sponsored by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, reveals that grosbeak flocks in 2005-2006 were half the size of those observed in 1990.

Findings during field work for the Breeding Bird Atlas of Ontario show an alarmingly steady decline of the bird in the province since 1981. A correlation has been found between dwindling grosbeak numbers and decreased spruce budworm infestations in eastern Canada. Other factors contributing to the decline in the bird’s numbers remain a mystery. There is reason, however, for cautious optimism that the Ontario population has stabilized.

Decades ago, West Virginia birders looked forward to the winter day they would observe the evening grosbeak. Some traveled great distances in hope of seeing a flock. After decades of taking for granted the regular occurrences of the bird, birders now await their return. Reduced numbers and less frequent appearances surely add to the excitement of seeing these vagabonds from the north.


Naturalist and veteran birder J. Lawrence Smith brings to this article 50 years of experience with the evening grosbeak. He lives in Hurricane and is the author of many publica