Evening Grosbeaks/East Kingston

[Kirk Elwell]

Hey all,

 This AM I heard a large helicopter coming SW from Pease as they do over our area so I went to check on it.

Black Hawk.

As it noisily went over a moderate group of yellowish birds flew out of the trees behind our home.  I didn't get a great look at them until I went inside and low and behold 3 female Evening Grosbeaks were at our rear feeders!  All told there were 16 who fed briefly.  Evenly distributed between females and males.

They did not stay long and flew off in a group but not seen later.

We've had 3 different visits here of EVGRs since we moved here in 2017.  None ever stayed long.

It brought me back to the 60's, 70's up in East Wakefield, NH where my parents retired on Round Pond.  Now Ivanhoe Lake.  They were obsessive feeders and they were the only home for quite a ways in Winter who stayed.

They used to get 100's of Evening Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins, Common and Hoary Redpolls, Pine Grosbeaks, etc, etc.

The sunflower seed "merchants" in the area loved my Dad!!  He used to buy it by the 100 pounds per delivery!!

Quite the show.

Kirk.

Kirk S Elwell

East Kingston, NH.