Showing posts with label Purple Finch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Purple Finch. Show all posts

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Purple Finch? - Juvenile

On our way back home from Bandon over the 4th weekend, we stopped at Shore Acres State Park to walk through the wonderful garden they have there. Other than at my feeder, I got my first sighting of a Purple Finch. It was singing up a storm on a pine branch along the edge of the garden. It seems odd to me that while I see Purple Finches regularly at my feeder, I had not seen one in the field other up until then.
Tonight I saw a bird at my feeder that I wasn't quite sure of, so I grabbed my camera and took some pictures. It was pretty tolerant of me so I figured it was probably a juvenile and when I got a look at the pictures the gummy corners of its bill confirmed my suspicion.
So the next thing to consider was what species was it? My thought the whole time was a Purple Finch because of the frequency of adults I get (I actually get many more Purple Finches than House Finches). Though it has much less of an eyebrow than a similar looking female, I really think this is a juvenile Purple Finch. Let me know if you know otherwise, or if you know for sure!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Purple Finch

Things are starting to heat up at my feeders. On Thursday I had my first Purple Finches. Better than that, it was also the first time I've ever seen Purple Finches. There have been times that I thought I had had my first sighting, but I ultimately determined that the bird was a House Finch.
This first sighting consisted of females and possibly juvenile males (notice the spec of red above the bill on the third bird from the left). I had to ask for some help identifying them as the yellow tinge through me off. The pictures didn't turn out very well as I was shooting through a window and it was a typical gloomy Oregon winter day.
Then, yesterday, I had just gotten back from Sauvie Island having joined the OBO field trip, when I notice something at the sunflower tube. It turned out to be a male Purple Finch. I shot through the window again, but there was a little sun peeking through the clouds, so the pictures are a little better. (I have to remember to clean that window!)
The male made another appearance today.