Heading into winter season, Michigan bird watchers can anticipate to see some unusual birds for this time of year.
The phenomenon is called an “irruption,” and is extending the bird viewing season in the Midwest, as birds return from the Northeast and parts of Canada due to an absence of food.
This offers Michiganders the chance to bring in these birds into their own yard and birdfeeders, or they may experience them on a winter season walk.
Juliet Berger is an ornithologist for the city of Ann Arbor. She stated irruptions are not trigger for alarm, however they are trigger for enjoyment for bird watchers. Irruptions are a regular by-product of population increases and modifications in food supply from year to year.
” In years when there’s no food where they live all year, they boil down here or further south. It’s a fantastic chance to see things like night grosbeaks, which are being seen in Washtenaw County.”
Male night grosbeaks can be determined by their yellow underside and backs, while women are brown with black wings with white spots. Birds are going back to Michigan due to an absence of food in their typical year-round environments, so they will be most likely to go to a bird feeder. Evening grosbeaks choose black oil sunflower seeds on a platform bird feeder.
Berger advises those confident of finding these seasonal rarities, to clean their bird feeders regularly to avoid the spread of illness.
