Purple Finch and Red Fox

Northern finches which nest in boreal forests in northern Canada have generally had successful breeding seasons, thanks to more abundant seed production by conifers and hardwoods. Many may find ample food sources in their home ranges, depending upon their food preferences and availability during the winter months. Local shortages will force some to migrate southward. 

Northern New England may be visited by Red Crossbills, Pine Siskins, Common Redpolls, Evening Grosbeaks and Purple Finches. Here in Connecticut, Purple Finches mostly breed at higher elevations in the northwestern part of the state, but are encountered sparingly all year in the central and southern reaches. We can hope for a spillover of them and other species, most notably Evening Grosbeaks. 

I have seen Purple Finches sporadically since late September, mostly females and first year males which have similar brown plumage, but usually failed to obtain good photos of the adult males. I have seen them visit the feeder only twice.

On September 29 I captured an image of this male:

On November 9, a single male appeared at our feeder:

He briefly perched in the leafless Aspen next to the feeders, affording me with a badly back-lit snapshot:

Purple Finches are not purple, but are a vibrant raspberry-red or wine color. The similar and much more common House Finch male displays a somewhat softer shade of red, described as "brick" red. Further, the Purple  Finch has a more robust large-headed appearance. The ridge of the House Finch's upper mandible (culmen) is slightly curved, while that of the Purple Finch is quite straight. These are House Finches: 

Other feeder visitors this past week have been a Carolina Wren, here foraging amid the needles of a White Pine:

A female Northern Flicker was also looking for insects (particularly ants) amid the pine needles:

This flicker took interest in the more secluded nest box. The entrance is probably too small for it. I hope it does not try to enlarge the opening, as this would increase the chance of predation:

Incidentally, our Eastern Bluebirds constructed their nest almost entirely of White Pine needles. They are still present and we can expect to see them at our suet feeder all winter. In late October, bluebirds were inspecting the nesting boxes and some may spend the night in them. On frigid nights several bluebirds have been known to huddle together inside a nest box to preserve body heat:

A Red Fox briefly appeared near the feeders. I suspect it was hoping to catch a chipmunk or squirrel. The fox was very skittish and slinked off as soon as I raised my camera:

Two female White-tailed Deer stared up at me from the clear-cut in back as I peered over the fence at the edged of the cliff. I never saw a third until all three suddenly ran off. (Taken with my iPhone): 

The Beaver Moon reflected on the lake as it rose on Monday morning...

...and in the evening, the Moon set into the glow of  Hartford's city lights:

Early the next morning  (November 8) it shone brightly in the dark sky just before the eclipse, awaiting arrival of Earth's shadow:

The sky was very clear on the morning of November 11. View from our back yard of downtown Hartford, 11 miles distant: 

This is a Ring camera video of a Red Fox who visited our yard during the night on October 19:

We experienced our first snowfall of the season on November 15, but it did not accumulate. These views are from the Ring camera at our entry:

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Linking to:

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Garden Affair

All Seasons

Image-in-ing

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World
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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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