Guide

Look closerBirds

Winter finch irruptions and the forecast that predicts them

November to February

Pine siskins, redpolls, evening grosbeaks and other northern finches spend most winters farther north, in Canada's boreal forest, but when its cone and seed crops come up short they move south, sometimes into Massachusetts woods and backyards. Each fall the Finch Research Network publishes a Winter Finch Forecast, built from tree seed reports, that predicts which finches may come and how far.

Why this time of year

The Winter Finch Forecast comes out each fall, and in a flight winter some northern finches reach Massachusetts and feed on birch catkins, conifer cones and feeders, while others only pass through. Which ones come can change from one winter to the next: a finch can crowd a feeder one winter and be absent the next.

How to notice it

  1. Read the Finch Research Network's Winter Finch Forecast at finchnetwork.org: each fall's edition says which northern finches may come south that winter and where to look for them.
  2. Check birches for small, busy flocks working the catkins, and the tips of pines, spruces and hemlocks for streaky little finches hanging upside down at the cones.
  3. From mid-December, once bears are denned, and only if you already feed birds: look closely at the nyjer and sunflower seed for an exceptionally streaky, small-billed finch (a pine siskin) or a heavyset grosbeak with a massive bill (the male yellow-bodied and dark-headed, the female gray with golden highlights).
  4. Listen in the treetops for flocks: siskins give a harsh 'watch-winding' call among wheezy twitters, and redpolls give sharp, buzzy call notes.

Try this with kids: Why would a bird fly hundreds of miles just because the trees up north had a bad year for seeds?

Word to know: An “irruption” is a winter movement that brings a northern bird far south of its usual winter range in large numbers, following food.

Safety

  • Where bears live, MassWildlife says there is no safe time of year for a bird feeder, and young bears often wander inside the I-495 belt; if you feed birds anyway, Mass Audubon advises waiting for full winter cold, and MassWildlife says take the whole feeder down at the first sign of a bear.
  • Pine siskin flocks seem particularly vulnerable to salmonella spread at feeders: clean feeders every two weeks, and take them down for two weeks if sick birds appear.

Sources

  • finchnetwork.orgThe 2026-2027 forecast (Tyler Hoar, posted 2026-09-25, signed 2026-09-27), the 28th annual edition, built from contributors' tree seed reports. Used for this winter's read in notes only: finches likely move into the northeastern US but will be in the woods more than at feeders; a small evening grosbeak movement to Massachusetts would not surprise the authors; little pine grosbeak or bohemian waxwing flight; most redpolls held in Canada; good eastern cone crops hold many red-breasted nuthatches north; Type 12 red crossbills likely dominate in the Northeast to begin winter. Also: siskins prefer nyjer and take black oil sunflower in tubes; the authors report recent misses on evening grosbeaks and that redpolls are increasingly harder to predict.
  • finchnetwork.orgLast winter's edition, posted 2025-09-28: a second data point for late-September publication, and the source of 'has the potential of being the biggest flight year since 2020-2021', a prediction for 2025-2026, not a result and not in the 2026-2027 edition. Also the southward mechanism for redpolls, forced south once snow covers weedy fields in the boreal.
  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon, 2025-11-19, evergreen content only: finches typically overwinter in Canada's boreal forest; subpar cone and birch seed crops push several species south into Massachusetts forests, fields and backyards; one poor seed year can ripple hundreds of miles south; look in pine, spruce, hemlock and fruiting trees and at feeders with black oil sunflower or nyjer. Dated observation: Purple Finch and Pine Siskin already widespread in the state by 2025-11-19.
  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon Outdoor Almanac, January 2026: an irruptive year; finches typically overwinter in Canada's boreal forest; names Purple Finch, Redpoll, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin and Evening Grosbeak. January presence in a flight winter.
  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon Outdoor Almanac, January 2021: an irruptive year for northern seed-eating songbirds; names Pine Siskin, Purple Finch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Pine and Evening Grosbeak, White-winged and Red Crossbill, Common Redpoll.
  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon Breeding Bird Atlas 2, Pine Siskin: fluctuates between years of scarcity and remarkable abundance, hard to predict; a change in the seed cone cycle brings large numbers to Massachusetts during the lean winter months; winters in coniferous forests of Canada and the northern United States; the page prints nesting 'as early as March 8, 2008'.
  • allaboutbirds.orgCornell (read via Wayback 2026-09-14; live page 403s to automated fetches): siskins may monopolize a thistle feeder one winter and be absent the next; irruptions every couple of years; cling to conifer branch tips, even upside down; exceptionally streaky, small-billed finch; harsh 'watch-winding' call amid wheezy twitters.
  • allaboutbirds.orgCornell (Wayback 2025-12-01): dense siskin flocks seem particularly vulnerable to salmonella outbreaks transmitted at feeders.
  • allaboutbirds.orgCornell (Wayback 2026-03-26): redpolls feed on birch catkins or visit feeders in winter; erratic, occasionally in large numbers far south; sharp, buzzy call notes; Common, Hoary and Lesser Redpoll lumped as Redpoll in 2024.
  • allaboutbirds.orgCornell (Wayback 2026-01-21): heavyset finch reaching winter feeders every few years; the yellow-bodied, dusky-headed male has a massive bill, the female is gray with golden highlights; irruptive, some years far south of its normal winter range; a declining species becoming uncommon in the eastern US.
  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon feeding best practices: black oil sunflower is the favorite of most seed eaters; nyjer popular with redpolls and pine siskins; clean feeders every 2 weeks and take them down 2 weeks when sick birds appear; in central and western MA bear towns remove feeders March through November.
  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon Outdoor Almanac, December 2025: where bears live, wait until the full winter cold to put out feeders.
  • mass.govMassWildlife: there is no safe time of day or year to have bird feeders out (the bear-area scoping is on the FAQ page, next source).
  • mass.govMassWildlife FAQ: dispersing young males frequently found within the I-495 belt, some as far east as Newton; bears generally denned mid-December through February, entering dens mid-November to mid-December; remove the entire feeder at the first sign of bear activity.
  • blogs.massaudubon.orgMass Audubon staff blog, 2020-11-10 (read via Wayback; the live URL now redirects to /news): an early arrival even in a big flight year ('earlier than in most irruption years'), and flocks mostly transients, showing up for a day and leaving.

Checked against these sources on September 28, 2026.

In the guide for November, December, January, February

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