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Thursday, November 17, 2022

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:



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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25 comments:

  1. Gorgeous sky and moon shots. I love your photos of the Red Fox!

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  2. You have all the bird photos and information going on. Love it. Also love your sky photos. Amazing photo of downtown Hartford.

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  3. It was a lovely snowfall! Lovely critters. I keep wondering if these old birders were colour blind! 'purple', indeed

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  4. Beautiful photos! I especially like the bluebird in flight. When I saw title I immediately thought of Fred Sanford.

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  5. Great shots as always - thanks for joining #Allseasons (Don't forget to comment)

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    1. Apologies - your comment was there! I did think it was unusual for you. My blogger is being so weird. I'll send myself to the corner in disgrace! :)

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  6. The bluebird going into the feeder is an exceptional shot!

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  7. Hello Ken,

    Your male Purple Finch is gorgeous, lovely captures of the Finches. I also love the Northern Flicker, the cute Wren and the pretty Bluebird. Cool sighting of the Fox, neat video. Beautiful moon and sky! Great sightings and photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.

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  8. Such beautiful bird photos! We don't have any birds like this here, they are so nice to see! :)

    Hope you are having a wonderful weekend :) We had a birthday party today and have another to go to tomorrow.

    www.awayfromtheblue.blogspot.com.au

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  9. Is that a tire down where the deer are? I can't tell. Love that you saw a fox and got good photos. I know they are here in Florida but I've not seen one. Stay warm this weekend! It's turned so cold!

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    1. Ha! You would notice it. I was going to air-brush it out. It must have been placed there years ago when the area was partly cleared. Suckers grew up all around it and they were removed during the latest clear-cut, thus exposing it. Carolina Wrens nested in the tire this past spring, so it has a purpose after all.

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  10. Good thing the tire was exposed so Carolina Wrens could nest in it. I liked how the ring showed us the snow. Do you like the ring? Does it have a monthly bill? Was it hard to put up? Or was it already there? I like all the images and detail about several birds. Very interesting blog. Thank you.

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    1. @Light and Voices-- We have 6 ring cameras around the property. We are satisfied with them, although with that many there are numerous false alarms (or those caused by the dogs running in the side enclosure-- we could turn alarms off, but the fox or deer may visit at night). We had an electrician install them as they all are upgraded with floodlights powered by house current. Price for backup service, which is essential, is $4.00/month or $40 per year for one device or $10 per month or $100/year for multiples as we have. In Florida we had a Ring doorbell and a single solar-powered camera overseeing the entire front of the home, easy for me to install myself.

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  11. I can't say I'm surprised the wten nested in the tire!! Great photos Ken. I personally like seeing the city skyline from your home.
    Terrific post as usual. I always enjoy stopping by for a visit. Thank you for linking in.

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  12. Great post, as usual. (Test comment.)

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  13. What beautiful wildlife photos! I love seeing the birds up close especially, because in real life, it’s usually just a quick glimpse.

    Michelle
    https://mybijoulifeonline.com

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  14. Hello, :=)

    Great shots of the Purple finch, I also thought it was more wine colour than purple. The House finch is just as pretty, it's good to see each one to compare the differences. The cute Carolina Wren, beautiful Bluebirds, Northern Flicker, are a joy to see. Great moon and sky shots, and wonderful captured of the beautiful fox.
    All the best and Happy Thankgiving.

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  15. What beautiful photos and captures as always I enjoyed looking through those :-)
    Have a finchtastic week 👍

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  16. As always, you entertain us with your gorgeous images. Love the birds, I haven't seen a purple finch this year but need to start watching.

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  17. I always look forward for your post to admire your stunning bird shots. The moon shot made my day. Thanks for sharing with Garden affair.

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