Finches at Ken Caryl Valley, JeffCo

[David Suddjian]

A flock of 8 Pine Siskins visited my Ken Caryl yard this morning. They were the first siskins I've had anywhere near my home since July. A look at the species' map in eBird confirms a relatively sparse presence in recent weeks. Check out this eBird graph of siskin abundance for Jefferson County. 2022 is the purple line running along the bottom this fall in this recent 5-year comparison. You can track Siskin numbers in the county over these years, following the lines from one color to the next. A major influx is evident in winter 2018-2019. There was a differently timed peak in 2020, and another late winter peak early this year. The county-level ebb and flow over the years revealed in the graph is pretty cool. I checked the graph for all of Colorado, too, and Fall 2022 also ranked as last for statewide siskin abundance in the recent 5-year comparison. 

Pine Siskin Abundance in Jefferson County 2018-2022

Then I had a flock of 19 Evening Grosbeaks come over and land in my trees. This is the largest group of Evening Grosbeaks I've noticed in my home area in 9 years, with most of my 64 detections there being just 1-3 birds; only once I had as many as 11 for the only other double digit report from my yard. (Don't you love eBird's record keeping?) My yard is not prime Evening Grosbeak habitat and they only pass over sporadically. 

Cassin's Finches remain fairly common around Ken Caryl Valley, noted daily around my home since that recent appearance with the last snow here.

David Suddjian

Ken Caryl Valley

Littleton, CO